title: Disproportionately large communicating fourth ventricle resulting from adjustable valve shunt in an infant.
abstract: Disproportionately large communicating fourth ventricle (DLCFV) is usually experienced in adults with no previous experience of shunting. We present a case of an infant with an enlarged fourth ventricle similar to isolated fourth ventricle (IFV) which appeared after shunting. The patient's brain stem symptoms and the abnormal appearance of the fourth ventricle were dramatically ameliorated simply by reducing the opening pressure of the adjustable valve of the ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. The present case suggests that in the present era, with adjustable or programmable valve shunt a common procedure, DLCFV may occur, at least temporarily, even in infants and even after shunting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan. katano@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katano
authors.forename: Shusaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D020546:Fourth Ventricle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*