Acute Subdural Hematoma of Arterial Origin in a Patient with a Lumboperitoneal Shunt

A patient who developed a subdural hygroma following emplacement of a lumboperitoneal shunt was found to have an acute subdural hematoma following a minor head trauma. At surgery, a ruptured cortical artery was identified as the source of bleeding. The pathoetiology of the acute subdural hematoma appeared to be rupture of the cortical artery, which protruded into the subdural hygroma through a defect in the arachnoid. The potential risk of acute subdural hematoma, even after minor head trauma, in a patient with cerebrospinal fluid diversion via a lumboperitoneal shunt, is discussed.