PERITONEAL PSEUDOCYST - VENTRICULO-PERITONEAL SHUNT COMPLICATIONS

Pseudocyst formation is a rare complication of ventriculo-peritoneal s hunt, occurring in only 22 cases of 1300 shunts from 1968 to 1992. The most common presentation is that of abdominal signs rather than neuro logical or infectious signs. The diagnosis is easy with ultrasonograph y. The difficulty is to evocate the cyst and to correlate symptoms and cyst. Treatment of the cyst was by aspiration (21 cases) and excision in 7 cases. The therapeutic choice is made according to the ultrasoun d findings. When the cyst was infected, an external ventricular shunt was used temporarly, but this type of shunt must be avoided where poss ible. Three patients died.