Papers of the Week

The case is presented of a girl diagnosed with obstructive hydrocephalus due to pilomyxoid astrocytoma, which required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) at the age of 5 years and 10 months. Two months later, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain did not show ventriculomegaly or other signs of increased intracranial pressure. At the age of 6 years and 2 months, a rapid onset of bilateral visual acuity loss developed and she was diagnosed with slit ventricle syndrome. Despite valve revisions of the VPS, she developed an abrupt decline of visual acuity to hand motion at 10 cm. Fundus examination revealed bilateral optic atrophy. She did not report any other systemic symptoms suggesting increased intracranial pressure, such as headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, irritability, or altered levels of consciousness.