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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 63
| Issue : 6 | Page : 1008 |
Complete intracranial migration of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: Rare complication of a common procedure
Parthasarathi Datta
Department of Neurosurgery, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| Date of Web Publication | 20-Nov-2015 |
Correspondence Address:
Parthasarathi Datta
Department of Neurosurgery, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.170087
How to cite this article:
Datta P. Complete intracranial migration of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: Rare complication of a common procedure. Neurol India 2015;63:1008 |
Sir,
I read the article "Complete intracranial migration of a ventriculo peritoneal shunt: Rare complication of a common procedure" published in Neurology India in January-February 2015/Vol-63/Issue 1. I appreciate that the ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt procedure is a simple operation but may have a wide range of complications. Complete intracranial migration of a VP shunt is definitely a very rare complication.
The authors have mentioned that 3 months after the placement of the VP shunt, the child had altered sensorium. The upper and lower ends of the shunt were re-explored, found to be functioning well, and left in situ. Further, the shunt catheter was not palpable anywhere across the chest wall. I could not understand this condition that, if the shunt catheter was not palpable anywhere across the chest wall, how was it possible that, on exploration, the upper and lower ends of the shunt were found to be functioning well.
I also appreciate your statement that for a dislodged VP shunt catheter in the ventricle, an endoscopic removal is an option. However, the adherent choroid plexus poses a problem. In this situation, one option is negotiating a very thin malleable endoscope through the ventricular end of the catheter and coagulating the choroid plexus entering through the pores of the ventricular catheter. I do not have personal experience of this thin endoscope but articles report that this maneuver is often successful.
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