Laparoscopically Assisted Shunt Surgery for Children with Hydrocephalus

ABSTRACT Background and Purpose: Over the lifetime of their ventriculoperitoneal shunts, many children with hydrocephalus require frequent abdominal procedures for shunt revision or replacement. The natural history is one of progressive difficulty in maintaining subsequent functional catheters. Recently, we have utilized laparoscopy in the management of this special population of children. We present our initial experience with laparoscopically assisted shunt surgery (LASS), assessing surgical outcome. Patients and Methods: The charts of nine boys and seven girls who underwent LASS at our institution between May 1997 and September 1999 were reviewed. The mean number of abdominal shunt operations prior to LASS was 3.0 (range 2–9) per child. The mean number of trocar sites (2 or 5 mm) for LASS was 2.0 (range 1–3). The mean follow-up was 18.5 months (range 10–38 months). Results: All 16 cases were completed laparoscopically with a mean operative time of 48.2 minutes (range 25–112 minutes). Ten patients had d...