Pulmonary valvular dysfunction in children with ventriculovenous shunts for hydrocephalus: a previously unreported complication.

A hitherto unreported cardiovascular complication of ventriculovenous shunts for hydrocephalus, involving the pulmonary valve apparatus, is described in two boys. This complication was the result of catheter migration with its proximal end interfering with pulmonary valve function. In one case the embolized catheter was removed by thoracotomy resulting in disappearance of the cardiac findings, whereas in the other case the catheter was in situ because of its peripheral position in the lung and the relatively insignificant hemodynamic disturbances of the pulmonary valve. The pertinent literature on the cardiovascular complications of ventriculovenous shunts for hydrocephalus is also reviewed.