Rare case of migration and perforation of the urinary bladder by ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheter with intravesical knotted formation: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: The most commonly used technique in the management of hydrocephalus is a neurosurgical procedure, known as ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS). Several complications of the distal end of a VPS catheter have been described in the literature, although migration and erosive bladder perforation of this shunt are extremely uncommon. CASE DESCRIPTION: We relate a rare pediatric case of a 4-year-old boy, with long-term dysuria, intermittent incontinence, and chronic abdominal pain developed during a myelomeningocele postoperative period, without other symptoms. A bladder fistula with the distal end of the VPS inside the bladder was observed while performing an ultrasound to investigate the urinary tract. Two months before the current surgical approach, the patient, with hydrocephalus and alterations compatible with Chiari malformation, was treated with VPS and subsequently subjected to the third ventriculostomy. The child was unsuccessfully treated with an infraumbilical laparotomy, with section and careful traction of the catheter. A vesicostomy was then performed and the catheter was observed to form an intravesical knot. CONCLUSION: The intravesical knot formation is extremely rare and its mechanism of formation is still not well understood. Patients with VPS need adequate medical follow-up to identify possible complications of the shunt.