Syringo-pleural shunt: a rare cause of recurrent pleural effusion.

case of a patient with reported spinal tuberculosis (TB) that developed syringomyelia, a rare sequelae of the disease is presented in this report. He underwent syringo-pleural shunting for syringomyelia. After 15 years, the patient presented with recurrent pleural effusion. Diagnostic thoracentesis revealed fluid of transudative nature. Pleural fluid was positive for beta-2 transferrin. Pleural biopsy was negative for any malignancy or TB. Computed tomography scan focusing on the shunt showed that it was undisplaced. Video-assisted thoracoscopic exploration showed the distal tip of the shunt adherent to the lung parenchyma. The effusion resolved after the dislodgement of distal tip from lung parenchyma.