[Gestation and spontaneous delivery in hydrocephalus with ventriculoperitoneal shunt]

The number of hydrocephalic patients reaching the reproductive age has increased in recent years due to improvement in the therapeutic armamentarium and the increased use of unidirectional ventriculo-peritoneal or ventriculo-atrial shunts for drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. 15 pregnancies in 14 patients with hydrocephalus and draining shunts have been reported. A patient with hyperprolactinemia and ventriculo-peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus, who conceived after treatment and delivered spontaneously, is presented. It is concluded that gestation does not change the rate of complications and that most of these women conceive and deliver spontaneously.