An Unusual Case of Headache Presenting to Emergency Department: Late Onset Ventriculo-Peritoneal Shunt Fracture

Abstract

A 17-year-old male with a ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt inserted at 8 months of age presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with headaches. He had attended the ED a week earlier with headaches but because a CT head scan at the time was reportedly normal, he had been discharged with instruction to re-attend in case of deterioration. A repeat CT head scan again demonstrated no evidence of acute hydrocephalus or a blocked VP shunt. However, a shunt series revealed a short shunt catheter interruption and a kink at the neck region. The patient was transferred to a tertiary paediatric neurosurgical unit on the same day and underwent an uneventful surgery.