Transoral Migration of a Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS) Catheter in a Six-Month-Old Boy: A Case Report

Mahamat Mahamat Saleh

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Oumar Abakar Mahamed *

Department of Epidemiology, Clinical Research and Community Health, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.

Hajar Dardar

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Loula Djama Miguil

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Ahmat Tidjani Mahamat

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Ibrahim Mahamat Ahmat

Pediatric Surgery Department, Amirou Boubacar Diallo University Hospital, Abdou Moumini University, Niamey, Niger.

Yahia Bennani

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Abdoulaye Affadine Ismail

Department of Epidemiology, Clinical Research and Community Health, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.

Zineb Oudrhiri

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Naoufel Boumahdi

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Othmane Alaoui

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Abdelhalim Mahmoudi

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Khalid Khattala

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

Youssef Bouabdallah

Pediatric Surgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Introduction: Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS) is the gold standard for the treatment of hydrocephalus. Gastrointestinal perforation is rare, and perforation above the angle of Treitz is exceptional. We report a rare case of a VPS catheter externalized through the mouth in a six-month-old boy.

Case Presentation: This was a six-month-old patient with a history of spina bifida, for which he underwent surgery on his sixth day of life, followed by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) for malformation-related tri-ventricular hydrocephalus on his tenth day of life. The reason for consultation was the protrusion of the VPS catheter through the mouth. The patient was admitted to the operating room for an exploratory procedure, and the end of the catheter protruding from the oral cavity was cut off under sterile conditions. The surgical exploration revealed multiple adherences between the loops. During adhesiolysis, the catheter was accidentally dislodged and ended up in the abdomen. We tried to locate the perforation but were unsuccessful. Conservative treatment was administered. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the eighth day.

Conclusion: Exteriorization of the VPS through the mouth is an extremely rare complication. Management requires emergency surgery, involving both a gastrointestinal exploration and verification of the VPS.

Keywords: Hydrocephalus, Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS), catheter migration, gastro-intestinal perforation, infant, case report


How to Cite

Saleh, Mahamat Mahamat, Oumar Abakar Mahamed, Hajar Dardar, Loula Djama Miguil, Ahmat Tidjani Mahamat, Ibrahim Mahamat Ahmat, Yahia Bennani, et al. 2026. “Transoral Migration of a Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt (VPS) Catheter in a Six-Month-Old Boy: A Case Report”. Asian Journal of Case Reports in Surgery 9 (2):581-86. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajcrs/2026/v9i2818.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.