An Unusual Complication in Urgent Laparoscopic Surgery: Accidental Transection of a Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

A 77-year-old male with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt due to normal-pressure hydrocephalus underwent emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute emphysematous cholecystitis.

Two months after the intervention, the patient came to the Emergency Department with altered level of consciousness and fever. Abdominal CT scan (Fig. 1) showed a divided shunt in the subcutaneous tissue and migration of the remaining intra-abdominal catheter. This was removed urgently and replaced by the Neurosurgery Unit.

Fig. 1.

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In the case of a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt, it is essential to determine the shunt pathway with an imaging test (Fig. 2) and to monitor the symptoms/signs of infection of the system.

Fig. 2.

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