Lumbar reservoir for intrathecal chemotherapy

The Ommaya ventricular reservoir has been the standby of intrathecal chemotherapy for more than a decade, in spite of some specific drawbacks. A general anaesthetic is often required. The scalp must be shaven. Ventricular puncture may not always be easy and keeping the ventricular catheter patent is sometimes difficult. Hence the author has adapted a commercially available lumbar peritoneal shunt system to function as a lumbar intrathecal reservoir. The procedure is simple and can be performed expeditiously under local anaesthesia. To date, eight cases have received intrathecal chemotherapy by this means.