Unusual Cause of Unilateral Breast Swelling

Jon Kristinn Nielsen; Rares Miscov; Peter Fryd Birkeland

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2021.05.111

Unusual Cause of Unilateral Breast Swelling

World Neurosurg. 2021 Aug:152:3-4. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.05.111. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Authors

Jon Kristinn Nielsen¹, Rares Miscov², Peter Fryd Birkeland³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark. Electronic address: jon.n@rn.dk.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.

PMID: 34087461
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.05.111

Abstract

A 69-year-old woman with bilateral breast implants and a newly inserted ventriculoperitoneal shunt presented with a 4-day history of swelling of the right breast. There were no signs of infection and blood tests were normal. With the help of ultrasound, mammogram, and computed tomography, the distal catheter of the shunt was found to be surrounding the right breast implant. During surgery the catheter was tunneled away from the breast and reinserted into the peritoneal cavity. She was discharged the next day. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt migration to the breast is a rare complication that can lead to cerebrospinal fluid accumulation and may be avoided by carefully tunneling away from the implant.

Keywords: Breast implant; Shunt migration; Ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Aged
Breast / pathology*
Breast Implants*
Female
Humans
Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure / surgery*
Prosthesis Failure / adverse effects*
Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / adverse effects*