Unusual proximal migration of ventriculoperitoneal shunt into the heart

Quite a number of cases of upward shunt migration have already been reported in the literature. In this paper, the intracardiac migration of a peritoneal shunt tube of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt system is reported. This is a rare complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunting and was diagnosed by a plain radiograph of the chest and a direct open heart surgery. To the author's knowledge this is the first reported case of migration of a peritoneal shunt tube into the heart. The authors postulate possible mechanisms and a physio-anatomical explanation on the basis of the surgical findings.