title: Intracranial calcified pseudocyst reaction to a shunt catheter.
abstract: A 9-year-old boy with spina bifida, Chiari II malformation, and hydrocephalus presented with signs of increased intracranial pressure consistent with a shunt malfunction. Radiological investigations revealed an intracranial calcified lesion along the ventricular catheter. A shunt tap revealed a translucent milky white fluid. The patient underwent a ventriculostomy and, eventually, a shunt revision. Pathology findings were consistent with the formation of dystrophic calcification and a pseudocyst around the shunt catheter. Postoperatively, the patient returned to his neurological baseline. This is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first report of an intracranial calcified pseudocyst in a patient with normal renal function.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia.
authors: June
authors: J
authors: Yowtak
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Hughes
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Heger
authors: Samuel D
authors: SD
authors: Macomson
mesh_terms: D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed