Cerebral venous thrombosis complicated by hemorrhagic infarction secondary to ventriculoperitoneal shunting

Abstract

While a delayed intracerebral hemorrhage at the site of a ventricular catheter has occasionally been reported in literature, a delayed hemorrhage caused by venous infarction secondary to ventriculoperitoneal shunting has not been previously reported. In the present case, a 68-year-old woman underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting through a frontal burr hole, and developed a hemorrhagic transformation of venous infarction on the second postoperative day. This massive venous infarction was caused by bipolar coagulation and occlusion of a large paramedian cortical vein in association with atresia of the rostral superior sagittal sinus. Thus, to eliminate the risk of postoperative venous infarction, technical precautions to avoid damaging surface vessels in a burr hole are required under loupe magnification in ventriculoperitoneal shunting. © 2010 The Korean Neurosurgical Society.