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Posterior fossa overcrowding and acquired Chiari I malformation can develop after excessive CSF drainage of intracranial ACs. Overshunting manifestations require prompt recognition and management. Preventive measures consist of making a stringent selection of cases being considered for surgery, avoiding CP drainage, and placing of a programmable valve as initial treatment of intracranial ACs if shunting is considered.

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SummaryWe report a patient, given a ventriculoperitoneal shunt at the neonatal period, who presented with a painless subcutaneous mass on his neck. Plain radiographs of the cervical region showed that the swelling was made up by a migrated and coiled peritoneal catheter. We briefly discuss the proposed mechanism for this complication and suggest that this occurrence must be taken into account at the time of evaluating a patient with shunt malfunction.KEY WORDS: Retrograde migration of shunts. CSF shunt complications. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Hydrocephalus.Migración retrógrada del catéter peritoneal de una vál-vula de hidrocefalia al cuello. Descripción de un caso Resumen Describimos el caso de un adulto que había sido tratado de recién nacido mediante la colocación de una válvula ventriculoperitoneal que se presentó con una tumoración indolora en el cuello. La radiografía simple demostró que la masa estaba formada por el catéter peritoneal que había emigrado cranealmente y se había enrollado en el subcutáneo. Discutimos brevemente los posibles mecanismos para explicar esta complicación y sugerimos que esta posibilidad sea tenida en cuenta a la hora de valorar un paciente con malfunción de una derivación de LCR.PALABRAS CLAVE: Migración retrógrada de las válvu-las. Complicaciones de las derivaciones de LCR. Derivación ventriculoperitoneal. Hidrocefalia.

A 51-year-old man underwent a C5-C7 anterior decompression and fusion. Six years later the patient complained of dysphagia caused by displacement of the cervical plate. One week after the scheduled removal of the implanted material, the patient developed a painful cervical swelling and fever. His cervical radiographs showed that a screw was missing compared to previous studies. Computerized tomography showed a large prevertebral abscess anterior to C4-C7. He underwent emergency surgical drainage of the abscess that was followed by total recovery. This report is aimed at describing this unusual complication of cervical instrumentation and to briefly review its pathogenesis and management options.