Complications of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt

The ventriculo-peritoneal shunt is a well established method in the treatment of primary and secondary hydrocephalus. Seventy ventriculo-peritoneal shunt operations were performed on fifty patients encountered at Tri-Service General Hospital during the last 7 years (1976-1982). The underlying causes of hydrocephalus were: brain tumor (25 cases), congenital hydrocephalus (16 cases), post-traumatic hydrocephalus (6 cases) and normal pressure hydrocephalus (3 cases). Twelve of the 50 patients (24%) developed post-operative complications. The complications in this series were: wound infection (5 cases), obstruction of the ventricular catheter (4 cases), disconnection of the reservoir connector (2 cases) and shortening of the peritoneal catheter (1 case). Among these 12 cases, 8 underwent two or more revisions of the shunt. The remaining 4 cases with superficial wound infection were managed conservatively. The types of complications and principles of management with emphasis on prevention of complications are discussed.