A shunt lost in the mists of time

Ventriculo peritoneal shunts offer promising results in the management of hydrocephalus. However, they are not without complications. Shunt migrations and extrusions have been reported plenty of times in the literature. Migration of both the proximal and distal catheter has been reported. However; entire shunt migrations are rare and can result in worsening of the clinical condition of the patient. We report a case of entire shunt migration in to the abdominal cavity which was diagnosed during her childhood 8 years after shunt surgery. The parents of the child were advised shunt removal and new shunt insertion but they did not agree to it and they lost follow-up. The patient attended neurosurgery outpatient clinic 24 years later for evaluation of traumatic brain injury, when this finding was incidentally detected. She remained asymptomatic for this condition during all these years. To our knowledge, such incidence of entire shunt migration being remaining asymptomatic for such a long duration has never been reported in the literature.