Intraperitoneal pseudocyst: treatment by aspiration.

Abdominal pseudocysts have been recorded infrequently as a complication of intraperitoneal shunting and the diagnosis and treatment of this problem in the past have been made of laparotomy. The management of this complication of peritoneal bypass was successfully undertaken at the time of conversion to a vascular system in a patient where an enlarging abdominal mass was associated with the signs and symptoms of shunt malfunction. It is felt in view of past recorded cases and our present experience, that the diagnosis of this complication can be made clinically and the condition treated without resorting to a major abdominal exploratory procedure.