The ventriculocholecystic shunt: two case reports and a review of the literature

Abstract

We describe the re-siting of ventriculoperitoneal shunts to the gallbladder in two children. The first child had a rare case of hydrocephalus associated with plasminogen deficiency. She had had multiple VP shunt revisions due to non-absorption of CSF from the peritoneum. The second had craniopharyngioma-related hydrocephalus with once again a non-absorbing peritoneum. We report no surgical complications in the revisions for both the cases, and there has been a subsequent follow-up of 46 and 28 months, respectively, without incident. A review of the relevant literature describing the use and the performance of ventriculocholecystic shunts in comparison with other ventricular shunts is considered.

Keywords::

• hydrocephalus
• plasminogen deficiency
• ventriculocholecystic shunt
• ventriculobiliary shunt
• ventriculogallbladder shunt
• ventriculoperitoneal shunt

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.