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Book

Ventriculostomy

Sunil Munakomi  1 , Joe M. Das  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Free Books & Documents
Book

Ventriculostomy

Sunil Munakomi et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Ventriculostomy is one of the most common emergency neurosurgical procedures performed worldwide. Approximately 20,000 patients undergo ventriculostomy annually in the United States alone. Claude-Nicholas Le Cat is credited with performing the first successful ventricular puncture, although his initial attempts were unsuccessful. In the 1700s, Robert Whytt and Benjamin Hill believed the procedure would hasten death, so they considered it a last resort.

In 1941, Ingraham and Campbell were successful in performing the procedure using the following innovations:

  1. A closed drainage system

  2. A stopcock to prevent overdrainage

  3. A drip chamber to prevent backflow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

  4. A flexible silicone tube for subcutaneous tunneling

This success helped to reestablish the use of the procedure internationally. In 1948, Franklin Robinson coupled ventricular pressure monitoring with the drainage procedure. Intracranial pressure (ICP)-guided rescue therapy for severe traumatic brain injury was subsequently recommended by the Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines in 1995.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Sunil Munakomi declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Joe Das declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Kohli G, Singh R, Herschman Y, Mammis A. Infection Incidence Associated with External Ventriculostomy Placement: A Comparison of Outcomes in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, and Operating Room. World Neurosurg. 2018 Feb;110:e135-e140. - PubMed
    1. Sorinola A, Buki A, Sandor J, Czeiter E. Risk Factors of External Ventricular Drain Infection: Proposing a Model for Future Studies. Front Neurol. 2019;10:226. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chau CYC, Craven CL, Rubiano AM, Adams H, Tülü S, Czosnyka M, Servadei F, Ercole A, Hutchinson PJ, Kolias AG. The Evolution of the Role of External Ventricular Drainage in Traumatic Brain Injury. J Clin Med. 2019 Sep 10;8(9) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mortazavi MM, Adeeb N, Griessenauer CJ, Sheikh H, Shahidi S, Tubbs RI, Tubbs RS. The ventricular system of the brain: a comprehensive review of its history, anatomy, histology, embryology, and surgical considerations. Childs Nerv Syst. 2014 Jan;30(1):19-35. - PubMed
    1. West E, Patwardhan UM, Calvo R, Krzyzaniak A, Krzyzaniak M, Bansal V, Sise M, Ravindra VM, Gonda D, Ignacio RC. Under pressure: Identifying factors for pediatric patients with severe traumatic brain injury who benefit From external ventricular drainage. J Pediatr Surg. 2025 Aug 12;:162537. - PubMed

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