Shunt exposure as a ventriculoperitoneal shunt complication: A case series

Approaches to ventriculoperitoneal shunt scalp erosion: countersinking into the calvarium. Illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) is a standard procedure for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and the management of its complications is common in the practice of pediatric neurosurgery. Shunt exposure, though a rare complication, can occur because of thin, fragile skin, a young patient age, protuberant hardware, poor scalp perfusion, and a multitude of other patient factors.

OBSERVATIONS

The authors report a complex case of VPS erosion through the scalp in a young female with Pfeiffer syndrome treated with external ventricular drainage, empirical antibiotics, and reinternalization with countersinking of replaced shunt hardware into the calvarium to prevent internal skin pressure points, reduce wound tension, and allow wound healing.

LESSONS

Recessing the shunt hardware, or countersinking the implant, into the calvarium is a simple technique often used in functional neurosurgical implantation surgeries, providing a safe surgical strategy to optimize wound healing in select cases in which the skin flap is unfavorable.

Managing Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Exposure in Adult Patients: Surgical Options and Implant Removal Prevention

BACKGROUND

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt exposure is rare. Small series reporting on managing this complication mainly focus on the pediatric population, where wound breaks over cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) chambers are observed most frequently. However, case series on adult patients are missing.

METHODS

Between June 2004 and December 2019, 18 patients underwent VP shunt revision due to implant exposure. Pertinent data were retrospectively collected from the hospital database. Their full clinical history, laboratory values, neuroradiological imaging, pretreatment CSF characteristics, photographic and video material, and surgery types were reviewed.

RESULTS

The ventricular catheter was exposed in 8 patients (the frontal region in 6 and the occipital region in 2), the valve chamber at the retroauricular region in 6, the shunt tube in 7 (at the neck in 4, the supraclavicular region in 2, and the abdominal incision in 1). Multiple exposure sites were found in 2 cases. Two patients with CSF infections benefitted from system removal and temporary external ventricular drainage until infection control was achieved. The remaining 16 patients underwent on-ward revision (wound curettage, skin mobilisation, and resuture over the exposed part of the shunt), which was effective in 14 patients, but further revision was required in 2 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

While rare, VP shunt exposure is a serious complication. In our experience, a prompt and accurate on-ward revision could save the implant in most patients without CSF infections.

Fever as a Clinical Presentation of Acute Hydrocephalus: Two Case Reports and a Review of Literature

Fever is often associated with infectious, traumatic, or allergenic etiologies, a known consequence of the systemic inflammatory response. Its association with a rise in intracranial pressures (ICP) is an uncommon presentation. We herein describe two patients who developed acute hydrocephalus and presented with high-grade fever. This febrile component was resistant to conventional antipyretics and was only relieved by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion.