Excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain is a condition known as hydrocephalus. It may cause a life-threatening increase in intracranial pressure (ICP). Nonsurgical treatment of hydrocephalus includes continuous CSF drainage, repetitive lumbar punctures (Lim et al., 2009), or osmotic diuretics such as mannitol or glycerol, but their effects are transient and limited. Sur...

AIM Neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) usually results in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH). This multicenter study describes the approach of early neuroendoscopic ventricular irrigation for the treatment of IVH/PHH and compares the results with the cases that have been initially treated only with conventional temporary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion techniques. MATERIAL AND ME...

Pneumocephalus following ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt insertion is an exceptionally rare occurrence. We report such an event after attempting ventricular puncture (ventriculostomy) for VP shunt insertion and then discuss the management of the same. Dry tap can lead to multiple attempts for ventriculostomy with the associated added risks of complications, as well as complicating the subsequen...

AIM We set out to investigate the optimal timing for shunt placement in patients with hydrocephalus after decompressive craniectomy (DC). MATERIAL AND METHODS We studied 63 consecutive patients that underwent DC because of traumatic brain injury, middle cerebral artery infarct or intracerebral hemorrhage. Hydrocephalus was diagnosed in 23/63 patients. The 23 patients were divided into two gro...

Liver abscess following ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting occurs very rarely. We report an unusual case of multiple liver abscesses caused by Staphylococcus capitis in a 50-year-old compromised woman due to a complicating VP shunt infection. We reviewed the nine cases of VP shunt complications reported in the English literature, and speculated that the most likely pathogenetic mechanism in our...

V (VP) shunt infections are a common complication in patients with these devices. Because children with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are more likely to experience infections, considerably more studies evaluating this complication in children are available than studies evaluating this complication in adults. 1 – 3 The available literature on VP shunt infections in adults consists mainly of r...

This is one case report of a 46-year-old Chinese male with type A acute aortic dissection. It is an emergent surgery including Bentall procedure, interposition graft replacement of aortic arch, stented descending aorta with the modified right atrial shunt technique. In the early post operation period, the patient was complicated with pulmonary embolism. Pulmanary arteriography showed that the r...

We use intraoperative fluoroscopy with contrast medium for correct placement of lumbar catheters in lumboperitoneal (LP) shunts. The patients are in the left or right lateral decubitus position on a radiolucent operating table and a portable C-arm fluoroscope is placed vertically. After confirming the puncture level fluoroscopically, a lumbar puncture is performed. The catheter is introduced in...

The history of the treatment of hydrocephalus by using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt devices is characterized by two main features. The first of them is the great success rate as far as the percentages and, in most cases, the quality of survival are concerned, for a condition which in the past invariably led to the patient's death or severe clinical deterioration. The second characteristic is...