Ventriculoperitoneal shunt strategy for cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea repair: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

We present a 10-year-old boy with a greater than 5-year history of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea. He experienced nine episodes of bacterial meningitis and underwent four surgical repairs, including two endoscopic repairs via the lateral nasal cavity, a craniotomy repair via forehead epidural, and endoscopic repair in combination with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The first three surgeries failed, but the fourth was successful, with no recurrence during 2.5 years of follow-up. We suggest that ventriculoperitoneal shunts be considered for refractory recurrent cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea, particularly in patients after multiple failures of conventional surgical repair, to reduce intracranial hypertension caused by long-term chronic cerebrospinal fluid compensatory production.