Abstract
Patients with complex medical problems and multiple failed ventricular shunts require continued innovation for hydrocephalus management. The authors report the case of a 4-year-old boy with refractory hydrocephalus and secondary reduced ability to absorb CSF in both the pleural and peritoneal cavities following renal transplantation. A novel management approach was devised with split shunting to pleural and peritoneal targets as well as prophylactic pleural port placement to provide a method for minimally invasive thoracentesis should symptomatic pleural effusions develop. Fluid was successfully aspirated via the pleural port with relief of symptoms over a period of 16 months without complication. The authors demonstrate that a previously undescribed approach to distal shunting can prevent neurological sequelae of shunt failure and permit noninvasive maintenance drainage for patients in whom symptomatic pleural effusion is a recurrent complication.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 407-410 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2020 |
Keywords
- Hydrocephalus
- Shunt Failure
- Ventriculoperitoneal shunt
- Ventriculopleural Shunt
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Surgery
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health