Abstract
Ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheters are very commonly used for hydrocephalus of varying
etiologies in infancy to childhood to bypass the obstruction. Few people are aware
of their complications, such as infection, obstruction, malfunctioning, displacements,
fluid collections, disconnections, and entry into various intra-abdominal organs.
These complications and related literature and images are presented in this essay.
In some cases, a radiologist can be of use to a neurosurgeon to alert what complication
a given catheter has produced. The objectives are (1) to describe the types and functioning
of cerebrospinal fluid diversion shunt catheters, (2) to know what can go wrong with
the position and function of these catheters, and (3) to understand the specific or
syndromic states of complication.
Keywords
VP shunt - complications of VP shunt - migration of VP shunt catheters - slit lateral
ventricle syndrome - double ventricle syndrome
