Hydrocephalus in Kartagener's syndrome

A 15-year-old girl with Kartagener's syndrome, an immotile ciliary disorder consisting of sinusitis, bronchiectasis and situs inversus, developed persistent headaches, and was found to have a communicating hydrocephalus. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt was required and relieved the hydrocephalus and the headache. This is the first report of a living patient with hydrocephalus and Kartagener's syndrome. The literature on Kartagener's syndrome is reviewed, and a mechanism for the patient's hydrocephalus is proposed.