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Abdominal Complications of Peritoneal Shunts

  • Chapter
Pediatric Hydrocephalus

Abstract

The prognosis of hydrocephalus changed dramatically when shunts were introduced during the second half of the last century. Following the experience with atrial shunts, the peritoneum has become the most popular site for distal catheter implantation. Comparing these two main sites, some authors noticed that, although peritoneal shunts did not have fewer complications than atrial shunts, these complications were less severe and carried a decidedly lower mortality [37]. The risk of sudden death due to pulmonary embolism, in particular, makes the atrial catheter a less attractive option than the peritoneal catheter [6]. Also, the length of the catheter is limited in atrial shunts, whereas it is not in peritoneal shunts; in children, the number of elective revisions required to lengthen atrial catheters is forbidding [60].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Lille University Hospital, CHRU de Lille, Lille, France

    Matthieu Vinchon & Patrick Dhellemmes

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  1. Matthieu Vinchon
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  2. Patrick Dhellemmes
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Neurosurgery, Santobono-Pausilipon Children’s Hospital, Naples, Italy

    Giuseppe Cinalli MD

  2. Pediatric Neurosurgery, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France

    Christian Sainte-Rose MD

  3. Pediatric Neurosurgery, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia

    Wirginia June Maixner MD

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Vinchon, M., Dhellemmes, P. (2005). Abdominal Complications of Peritoneal Shunts. In: Cinalli, G., Sainte-Rose, C., Maixner, W.J. (eds) Pediatric Hydrocephalus. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2121-1_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2121-1_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-2173-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2121-1

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