Fibrothorax in adulthood caused by a cerebrospinal fluid shunt in the treatment of hydrocephalus.

Ventriculopleural shunts have been used as an alternative to ventriculoperitoneal shunts in the treatment of hydrocephalus. Although recurrent pleural effusion is a known complication of this procedure, severe fibrothorax requiring decortication has been described only once, in a case involving a child. The authors report a case of a severe fibrothorax with an entrapped lung presenting in an adult patient.