Introduction :
Craniophayngiomas are epithelial tumors, developing from the remnants of the Rathke pouch, and expending within the sellar and supra-sellar areas. Despite their benign histological nature, their propensity to infiltrate surrounding tissues, as well as their close proximity to the pituitary stalk, hypothalamus, optic chiasm, carotid arteries and third ventricle, may lead to serious morbidities and be source for therapeutic difficulties (1,2).
Some craniopharyngiomas, mainly of retrochiasmatic development, may compress the third ventricle or even the foramina of Monroe and cerebral aqueduct, leading to an upward hydrocephalus. This complication, added to the volume of the tumor, may be source of an important intracranial hypertension. Thus, a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting may be mandatory before resection of the tumor (3,4).
In this paper, we report the case of a child who underwent a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting as he presented a hydrocephalus related to a craniopharyngioma. The ventricular catheter perforated the cyst which expressed through an aseptic ascites and a chemical meningitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to be reported for such an inadvertence.