title: A 10-year experience in the treatment of intraabdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocysts.
abstract: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess a ten-year experience in the treatment of rare complications of ventriculoperitoneal shunting--intraabdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocysts. At this time there are no data about incidence, clinical course and treatment of these complications in Croatia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) abdominal pseudocyst is an uncommon but important complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunts. Retrospective data were obtained from 5 children with abdominal CSF pseudocysts, treated between 1996 and 2007. The incidence of intraabdominal CSF pseudocysts in our study is 2.9%. All patients were girls ranged in age from 4 to 12 years old (mean 8.8 years). In most cases etiology of hydrocephalus was congenital, idiopathic. Abdominal pain and distension were the most frequent clinical finding (4/5). Although infection has been reported as responsible for pseudocyst formation, we did not found it in our series. Laparotomy with cyst wall excision and catheter replacement was performed in 2/5 cases, and only cyst fluid aspiration with catheter replacement in 3/5 cases. Recurrence of the abdominal cyst was observed in one girl who was in terminal stadium of anaplastic ependymoma. It is our opinion that only catheter replacement and cyst fluid evacuation, as one of the treatment modalities, may be successful, even in large CSF intraperitoneal pseudocysts.
authors.affiliation: University of Zagreb, Zagreb Children Hospital, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Zagreb, Croatia. franjobartolek@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Franjo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bartolek
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zganjer
authors.forename: Anto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pajić
authors.forename: Ante
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cizmić
authors.forename: Antun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kljenak
authors.forename: Irenej
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cigit
authors.forename: Andrija
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Car
authors.forename: Jasminka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stepan
authors.forename: Dubravka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartolek
authors.forename: Arijana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boras
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003560:Cysts / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*