[External lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage with controlled flow-- its use in pediatric neurosurgery]

The authors describe cases of external lumbar CSF drainage with a regulated flow inserted lumbally or in the pseudomeningocele in children. During flow regulation during operation they were guided by the finding in the surgical field, during therapeutic use (in the course of 1-8 days) by setting the CSF output at 15 ml/hour. Drainage was used in extradural approach to the orbit, for treatment of liquorrhoea in surgical wounds of the posterior fossa, frontal and temporal drainage to clear the CSF in meningitis and to make inner drainage possible. CSF fistulae healed even after major craniectomies and infections due to the resistance of allogenic and xenogenic dural transplants. For external CSF drainage the authors used lumbar needles, intravenous Portex kits or original Cordis kits. The latter proved to be the best.