title: Spontaneous knot; a rare cause of ventriculoperitoneal shunt blockage.
abstract: A 14-year old X linked congenital hydrocephalus presented with unexplained headaches and vomiting. He had external ventricular drain and intracranial pressure monitoring (ICP). Subsequently, he underwent exploration and removal of previously inserted ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts. On retrieval of peritoneal catheters a double knot was noted between his two distal catheters. This case illustrates a rare cause of ventriculoperitoneal shunt malfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. wailmohammed@rcsi.ie
authors.forename: Wail
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.forename: Ulrikke
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wiig
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caird
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects; D002535:Cerebral Aqueduct / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery; D020878:Device Removal; D004868:Equipment Failure; D040181:Genetic Diseases, X-Linked / Q000601:surgery; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology*