Shunt Placement and Marsupialization in Treatment of Hydrocephalus and Quadrigeminal Diverticula

Supracollicular fluid accumulation type 3 with concurrent hydrocephalus in a five‐month‐old crossbreed dog

“…Identification of SFA in the absence of clinical signs does not necessitate treatment, as SFA is frequently an incidental finding on advanced imaging or at postmortem 2. In some cases, however, secondary compression of surrounding structures and obstruction of flow of CSF cause clinical signs of neurological dysfunction 1 10 11. One study found that compression of the occipital lobes by greater than 14 per cent was always associated with clinical signs, whereas a marked degree of cerebellar compression was seen in both symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs 1.…”

“…It also avoids the associated complications of shunt system failure. Marsupialisation does however involve a much more extensive surgical approach; complications of incomplete pseudocyst resolution and recurrence of the pseudocyst have also been reported with this technique 11…”

“…In human patients, endoscopic fenestration of intracranial pseudocystic structures into the ventricular system has also been described 11 18. Endoscopic techniques do not have the associated risk of shunt system failure or complication, and involve a much less extensive surgical approach with generally good results in human beings 18–20.…”

“…Endoscopic techniques do not have the associated risk of shunt system failure or complication, and involve a much less extensive surgical approach with generally good results in human beings 18–20. The use of this technique in animals has not yet been fully described, and endoscopic fenestration of the lateral ventricles for treatment of hydrocephalus has been reported anecdotally 11…”

Solitary intraventricular tumors in dogs and cats treated with radiotherapy alone or combined with ventriculoperitoneal shunts: A retrospective descriptive case series

“…Ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery was recommended to all owners before the start of RT if the animal showed signs of increased intraventricular pressure based on MRI (e.g., elevated corpus callosum and presence of a deformed intermediate mass, periventricular edema, dilatation of the olfactory recess, thinning of sulci or subarachnoid space or both) 20 . Unilateral shunts were placed by a board‐certified veterinary neurologist (KB) under general anesthesia as previously described 21 . Information about shunt‐related complications as well as the time points when they appeared after shunt placement were retrieved from the medical records.…”