A case of primary infertility and a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt

Elior Eliasi; Adiel Cohen; Oren Wasser; Gabriel Oelsner

doi:10.1093/jscr/rjac590

A case of primary infertility and a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt

J Surg Case Rep. 2022 Dec 17;2022(12):rjac590. doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjac590. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Elior Eliasi¹, Adiel Cohen², Oren Wasser³, Gabriel Oelsner¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Bnei Brak, Israel.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
³ Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.

Abstract

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts are the main treatment modality for patients with hydrocephalus. The complications arising in patients with VP shunts are well documented. We present a case of infertility in a patient with a long-standing VP shunt. Her infertility is thought to be the result of pelvic adhesions due to factors related to the distal end of her VP shunt. A 22-year-old female with a 1-year history of infertility was referred due to bilateral hydrosalpinges. Diagnostic laparoscopy revealed multiple adhesions surrounding the distal end of the fallopian tubes. The distal portion of a VP shunt, which was placed over the course of her childhood, was found to be grossly inflamed and densely adherent to the pelvic viscera. VP shunts may produce abdominal adhesions and can cause mechanical infertility.

Publication types

Case Reports