Knotted bowel: small-bowel obstruction from coiled peritoneal shunt catheters. Report of two cases.

Knotting of a peritoneal catheter around a loop of bowel is a rare occurrence, which may lead to bowel obstruction. The incomplete removal of two ventriculoperitoneal shunts resulted in two cases of iatrogenically knotted peritoneal catheters. One patient underwent a laparotomy for relief of obstruction and the other was successfully treated by uncoiling the catheter by means of a wire passed into its lumen. A plan for management of a knotted peritoneal catheter is outlined.