ventriculoperitoneostomy /ventrik′yəlōper′itō′nē·os″təmē/ [L, ventriculus + Gk, peri, around, teinein, to stretch, stoma, mouth] , a surgical procedure for temporarily diverting cerebrospinal fluid in hydrocephalus, usually in the newborn. In this procedure, which spares the kidney but is less efficient than a ventriculoureterostomy, a polyethylene tube is passed from the lateral ventricle subcutaneously down the dorsal spine and is reinserted into the peritoneal cavity, where the diverted fluid is absorbed. This procedure is used to correct both the communicating and the obstructive types of hydrocephalus.
