Frontal-to-temporal horn shunt as treatment for temporal horn entrapment

In cases of temporal horn entrapment caused by primary malignant central nervous system tumors, the goal is to restore physiological flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) while preventing the spread of malignant tumor cells to distant sites. This goal is usually accomplished by placement of a traditional ventriculoperitoneal, ventriculopleural, or ventriculoatrial shunt. In this study, the authors describe a novel treatment approach using placement of a frontal-to-temporal horn shunt as an alternative to distal CSF diversion. Stereotactic surgery was used for placement of frontal-to-temporal horn shunts in 3 patients who presented with focal compressive symptoms caused by temporal horn dilation. Serial imaging studies confirmed temporal horn decompression with symptom resolution after a maximum of 20 months of follow-up (minimum 2 months in 1 patient who died of tumor progression). The authors believe this simple technique may be considered for use in all patients with neurological symptoms resulting from temporal horn dilation caused by malignant central nervous system neoplasms in which seeding of distant sites by CSF diversion is a concern.