Abdominal complications of ventriculoperitoneal shunts in Nigerians.

During a period of 12 years, 154 hydrocephalic children were treated with ventriculoperitoneal CSF shunting operations. The abdominal complications thus far encountered include development of a peritoneal fibrous pouch, deliberate extraction of the tube by mothers who mistook it for an Ascaris worm, failure of CSF absorption by the peritoneum giving rise to ascites, spontaneous extrusion of the abdominal tube, bowel perforation and volvulus.