CSF fistula through the umbilicus following a shunt surgery: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND

Ventriculoperitoneal shunting is among the commonest neurosurgical operations. Shunt catheters within the peritoneal cavity have migrated through and perforated almost all the intra-abdominal hollow viscera.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A unique case of an infant is presented, in whom CSF leaked via a fistulous opening through the umbilicus. The embryological aspect of this anomalous communication is described, along with all the 7 cases previously reported with their pathophysiological causes.

CONCLUSIONS

The CSF fistula through the umbilicus may be due to varying pathological causes. The present paper describes an altogether new pathological cause behind such a complication, with a re-visit to all other described causes. The present description of a patent intercoelomic communication, an embryological remnant, puts a new light on this 3-decade-old complication.