Penetration of the colon by a ventriculo-peritoneal drain resulting in an intra-cerebral abscess

Abstract

A male child was born with internal hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis requiring a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt on the first postnatal day. Subsequently, the hydrocephalus did not subside but increased. Autopsy at the age of 15 months disclosed the peritoneal tip of the catheter located inside the transverse colon, the cerebral tip of the catheter within a huge abscess of the right cerebral hemisphere. Penetration of the intestine by a ventriculo-peritoneal catheter seems to be a rare event, occasionally resulting in early death due ascending infection.