Submit
   
Case Report
 
Breast cancer in association with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: An unexpected discovery
Roisin M. Heaney1, Patricia Cronin1, Maurice Stokes1
1Breast Health, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin 7, Ireland.

doi:10.5348/ijcri-2015123-CR-10584

Address correspondence to:
Roisin M. Heaney
Breast Health, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
Eccles Street, Dublin 7
Ireland
Phone: 3531 803 2560
Fax: 3531 8032369

Access full text article on other devices

  Access PDF of article on other devices

[HTML Full Text]   [PDF Full Text] [Print This Article]
[Similar article in Pumed] [Similar article in Google Scholar]


How to cite this article
Heaney RM, Cronin P, Stokes M. Breast cancer in association with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: An unexpected discovery. Int J Case Rep Images 2015;6(12):763–766.


Abstract
Introduction: Breast cancer and ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts are independently, relatively common entities. However, the development of cancer in the presence of a shunt catheter is a rare occurrence.
Case Report: A 75-year-old female presented with multifocal invasive lobular carcinoma in association with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The patient did not include insertion of a VP shunt in her medical history during the initial consultation and this in conjunction with the absence of the shunt catheter on preoperative imaging resulted in the unexpected discovery of the VP shunt adjacent to the tumour intra-operatively. Meticulous dissection allowed for preservation of the VP shunt and the patient had an unremarkable recovery.
Conclusion: Preoperatively, a thorough history is essential for the safe provision of patient care. Neurosurgeons must give due consideration to the possibility of future oncological breast surgery when planning insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Keywords: Breast, Cancer, Mastectomy, Ventriculoperitoneal shunt


[HTML Full Text]   [PDF Full Text]
Author Contributions
Roisin M. Heaney – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Patricia Cronin – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Maurice Stokes – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of submission
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of support
None
Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright
© 2015 Roisin M. Heaney et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.