Failure of a Torkildsen shunt after functioning for 50 years

Mechanical obstruction is a severe complication of ventricular catheter use. Its incidence was shown to be high in the 1960s and 1970s, with up to 41% of the catheters becoming obstructed within 10 years after surgery. The authors present what is to their knowledge the first reported case of a patient with failure of a Torkildsen shunt after 50 years of functioning. A 60-year-old woman presented with increasing gait ataxia, decline in cognitive functions (including short-term memory loss), and slight urinary incontinence. The diagnosis of hydrocephalus and thus malfunction of the Torkildsen shunt implanted 50 years previously was confirmed by MR images, which revealed a prominent triventricular hydrocephalus. The patient subsequently underwent endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), the current surgical treatment of choice, resulting in total resolution of her neurological symptoms and amelioration of cerebral tissue distension. Decrease in ventricle dilation and success of the ETV were confirmed on postoperative follow-up MR images.