Laparoscopically assisted peritoneal shunt insertion in hydrocephalus: a prospective controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Shunting of cerebrospinal fluid to the peritoneal cavity is standard therapy for the management of hydrocephalus. Common problems, however, are infection and shunt malfunction, which frequently is related to the peritoneal end of the catheter. Laparoscopic revision of distal shunt malfunction has become popular, but endoscopic techniques for primary placement of the peritoneal catheter are not performed often. This study aimed to compare laparoscopically assisted peritoneal catheter placement with the conventional minilaparotomy technique.
METHODS: In the prospective arm of the study, 50 patients underwent laparoscopic distal shunt placement. The findings were compared with those for another group of 50 patients who underwent surgery by the standard transrectal or pararectal approach. Both groups were similar with regard to age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, indications for surgery, and frequency of previous abdominal operations.
RESULTS: No intraoperative complications occurred. The mean time for surgery was 59 min in the laparoscopically assisted treatment group and 49 min in the standard group. During follow-up assessment, 3 instances of distal catheter malfunction or infection (2 malfunctions and 1 infection) occurred in the endoscopic group, and 12 instances (6 malfunctions and 6 infections) occurred in the control group. This difference was statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this prospective controlled study indicate that the risk for long-term complications attributable to distal shunt malfunction is reduced when laparoscopic techniques are used to place the peritoneal end of the shunt catheter.