Rediscovering the origins of Kocher's point

Kocher's point serves as the most common entry site for accessing the ventricles of the brain. Named after Nobel laureate Theodor Kocher, a prominent Swiss surgeon of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the discovery of the anatomical landmark highlights the power of progressive refinement and collaboration across generations. Utilizing his well-acclaimed craniometer, Kocher described a safe trajectory to the lateral ventricle, navigating around eloquent regions of the brain and resolving the issue of ventricular collapse, a concern during his time with the use of Keen's point. To perform ventricular drainage, Theodor Kocher employed an approach resembling the modern craniotomy with bone flap replacement, which he deemed provided greater visibility of the target region anterior to the precentral gyrus. Despite achieving excellent ventricular drainage through his point, the open approach failed to address the risk of blood loss and infection and the requirement for high levels of anesthesia. Were it not for the forgotten contributions of Theodor's son, Albert Kocher, the present method of external ventricular drainage would have remained far more complicated. Albert simplified the approach, using cocaine for local anesthesia and directly drilling through the skin and bone at Kocher's point followed by insertion of a syringe.