Surgical management of primary and idiopathic internal hydrocephalus in dogs and cats

Front Vet Sci. 2024 Jul 4:11:1435982. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1435982. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement is an effective method to treat internal hydrocephalus in dogs and cats. Although it has a long history in veterinary medicine, the technique continues to evolve. Despite continuing attempts to reduce the incidence of associated complications, shunt failure remains a major problem, and often leads to multiple hospital admissions. This review gives an overview about current knowledge of ventriculoperitoneal shunting techniques in animals, applicable shunt hardware as well as shunt-associated complications and their prevention and treatment.

Keywords: VPS; canine; feline; hydrocephalus; magnetic resonance imaging.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.