Distal ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheter migration into the pulmonary artery: a rare complication

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement is a common treatment for hydrocephalus, although not devoid of complications. We report a case of a 60-year-old male who underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt implantation for the treatment of post-traumatic hydrocephalus. Thirteen months post-surgery, after an initial clinical improvement, the patient manifested gait and cognitive disorders. Chest X-rays and computed tomography revealed that the distal shunt catheter had migrated into the pulmonary artery. The catheter was removed by reopening the previous retroauricular incision followed by manual traction, without incidents. A new peritoneal catheter was implanted with immediate clinical improvement and no further complications two years after the second surgery. We communicate a rare complication of a standard neurosurgical procedure that can be detected by different healthcare professionals, and review its various forms of presentation and multidisciplinary management strategies from 19 similar clinical cases found in the literature.