Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2009
Review Case ReportsRetained intrathecal catheter fragment after spinal drain insertion.
The placement of lumbar spinal drains is being done with increasing frequency to facilitate high-risk surgical procedures. One risk associated with these procedures is catheter shearing, resulting in a retained foreign body in the intrathecal space. Unlike retained epidural fragments, there are no guidelines on the management of this complication. The purpose of this article was to synthesize the literature on this subject to come up with guidelines for preventing and managing this complication. ⋯ A retained intrathecal catheter can be managed conservatively in certain contexts. Periodic follow-up visits, with or without repeat imaging, are recommended in these circumstances.