Abdominal Complications of Pediatric Ventriculoperitoneal Shunts: A 10-year Retrospective Single-center Review

A BSTRACT The distal catheter of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt causes a range of abdominal complications that often require urgent surgery. This was a retrospective single-center review of children aged 0–18 years treated for an abdominal VP shunt complication over 10 years (January 2016–January 2026). Data were summarized as counts and percentages. Eighteen children were managed; 14 (77.8%) were younger than 5 years. Abdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocyst was the most common complication (9, 50.0%), followed by bowel perforation (4, 22.2%), catheter migration (3, 16.7%), and shunt ascites (2, 11.1%). Six of nine pseudocysts (66.7%) were managed laparoscopically. Cultures were positive in 7 (38.9%) children, all requiring externalization and staged management, whereas the 11 (61.1%) sterile cases underwent successful shunt salvage. Microbiological sterility was the principal determinant of shunt salvage. Early interdisciplinary evaluation, structured microbiological triage, and selective laparoscopy may improve shunt preservation and reduce morbidity.