Peritoneal catheter knot formation in ventriculoperitoneal shunting: an intraoperative artificial phenomenon?

Peritoneal catheter knot formation is a rare complication associated with ventriculoperitoneal shunting. In most reports, the knot formation was also considered to be the cause of shunt malfunction.

In this study, we demonstrate the possible misinterpretation of peritoneal catheter knot formation in ventriculoperitoneal shunting. We found a knot in the peritoneal catheter intraoperatively, while no knot was noted on the abdominal X-ray taken 1 day prior to the operation. Our findings indicate that the knot had actually formed intraoperatively. This case suggests that we should not immediately conclude that a knot is the cause of shunt malfunction in such an operation.