title: Distal ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheter migration to the right ventricle of the heart--a case report.
abstract: Ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS) have few complications other than mechanical obstruction and infection. A VPS catheter located in the chest is a rare complication, while intracardiac catheter migration is rarer still. We present a case of intracardiac migration of a distal VPS catheter after initial documented peritoneal placement. Puncture or erosion of a cervical vein may predispose a patient to such a migration. Negative inspiratory pressure and orthograde blood flow may then draw the catheter proximally through a vein and eventually to the heart or pulmonary artery. We discuss the mechanisms and management of this rare, yet dangerous, complication of a routine neurosurgical procedure.
authors: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport's Department of Neurosurgery.
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Manix
authors: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport's Department of Neurosurgery.
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Sin
authors: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport's Department of Neurosurgery.
authors: Anil
authors: A
authors: Nanda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057785:Catheters / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*