Endovascular Retrieval of Migrated Distal End of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt from Bilateral Pulmonary Arteries: A Technical Note

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting of cerebrospinal fluid is one of the most common procedures performed by neurosurgeons around the world. Migration of distal VP shunt catheter into bilateral segmental pulmonary arteries is an extremely rare complication of VP shunt placement. In the present case, a 30-year-old male underwent VP shunting complicated by migration of distal VP shunt catheter into the bilateral pulmonary arteries. Despite manual attempt at externalizing the distal VP shunt catheter at the level of the clavicle, a small piece of distal VP shunt catheter in bilateral pulmonary arteries was noted on computed tomography of the chest obtained after manual externalization. This persistent distal VP shunt catheter was likely left behind after a break in the distal VP shunt catheter during manual externalization procedure. Given the small size of the segmental pulmonary arteries, a novel endovascular technique was used to move the distal VP shunt catheter from the bilateral segmental pulmonary arteries to the main pulmonary trunk. Once in the main pulmonary trunk, a snare device was used to retrieve the distal shunt catheter through the femoral vein. In this technical note, the authors highlight the relevant endovascular technical details to first move the VP shunt catheter from the bilateral segmental arteries followed by successful catheter retrieval using snare device.