Mechanical complications of the reservoirs and flushing devices in ventricular shunt systems

Complications of valve reservoirs or flushing devices are seldom reported as a cause of shunt malfunction. The authors document their experience in six cases of mechanical complications of shunting devices. Two cases presented with collapse and intracranial migration of the valve reservoir, a complication that has not been reported previously. In two cases, the plastic dome became disconnected from the metallic base of the reservoir. A fifth patient, with an integral shunt system, showed a fracture in the soldered join of the distal tube to the reservoir dome. The last patient had the valve reservoir partially collapsed by bone growth at the time of shunt revision.