A rare, delayed complication of a ventriculogallbladder shunt. Case report and review of the literature.
The use of the gallbladder as an alternative cerebrospinal fluid diversion site has been previously described in cases in which all other body cavities, such as the peritoneal cavity, right atrium, or pleural cavity, have been exhausted. Various ventriculogallbladder (VG) shunt complications have been described as well. In the present paper, the authors report on a rare, delayed VG shunt complication. A distal obstruction developed in a previously inserted VG shunt because of a large, radiolucent bile calculus. The presence of the VG shunt could be implicated in the pathogenetic mechanism of the bile calculus formation. The authors also review the pertinent literature.
Fountas
Kostas N
KN
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Central Georgia, Mercer University, School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia 31201, USA. knfountasmd@excite.com <knfountasmd@excite.com>
Kassam
Mozaffar A
MA
Grigorian
Arthur A
AA
D014695:Cerebral Ventriculography; D003949:Diagnostic Techniques, Surgical; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005704:Gallbladder; D042882:Gallstones / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012086:Reoperation; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*