UNUSUAL PROXIMAL MIGRATION OF VENTRICULOPERITONEAL SHUNT INTO THE HEART

Quite a number of cases of upward shunt migration have already been re ported in the literature. In this paper, the intracardiac migration of a peritoneal shunt tube of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt system is rep orted. This is a rare complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunting an d was diagnosed by a plain radiograph of the chest and a direct open h eart surgery. To the author's knowledge this is the first reported cas e of migration of a peritoneal shunt tube into the heart. The authors postulate possible mechanisms and a physio-anatomical explanation on t he basis of the surgical findings.