Colonic complications of ventriculoperitoneal shunts

Late perforation of the large bowel by the abdominal catheter of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is extremely rare. Four of the five reported patients subsequently died. We report here three patients who presented with this complication and were treated successfully. Bowel perforation by a VP shunt catheter should be considered when a shunt infection is secondary to gram-negative enteric organisms. It can occur without evidence of peritonitis, and the abdominal catheter can be removed percutaneously, thus avoiding a laparotomy.