Percutaneous lumbar intrathecal catheter for the administration of chemotherapy

We present a patient with Burkitt's lymphoma in whom the initial diagnostic lumbar puncture was difficult due to a recent lumbar laminectomy and residual spinal cord tumor. According to our current protocol, he was to receive intrathecal chemotherapy for three consecutive days. To avoid the need for repeated attempts at lumbar puncture and to ensure the proper instillation of therapy, a percutaneous IT catheter was placed for 48 hours and the three doses of IT chemotherapy were administered through this catheter. Due to the importance of IT chemotherapy, options must be available to deliver these medications when technical or anatomic abnormalities exist. One such option is the short term placement of a percutaneous IT catheter.