Spinal cord damage caused by rotation of a T-drain in a patient with syringoperitoneal shunt.

We report on a severe complication to the use of intramedullary T-drain in syringoperitoneal shunting procedures: rotational forces in the shunt system causing the arms of the T-drain to gradually compress spinal cord tissue and damage it. Further rotation/destruction was prevented by removing the distal part of the drain system, and by separating the two arms of the T-drain, thus changing it into a syringosubarachnoidal shunt. The syrinx remained collapsed throughout all procedures.