OR / Prep · Neurosurgery · percutaneous
You’re scrubbing into
External ventricular drain insertion
Why are we operating?
A catheter into the lateral ventricle through a frontal burr hole at Kocher's point: the emergency treatment of hydrocephalus and raised intracranial pressure, and the ICU's window on the pressure itself.
Indication: Acute hydrocephalus (haemorrhage, tumour, infection), refractory intracranial hypertension needing CSF drainage, and pressure monitoring with a therapeutic option attached.
The operation in 4 steps
01Kocher's point
02Burr hole and dural opening
03Ventricular cannulation
04Tunnelling and levelling
Watch it done
External ventricular drain (EVD)
Why the drain goes in, where Kocher's point is, and how the height of the bag sets the pressure.
Source: Cleveland Clinic · Watch on YouTube
Conceptual teaching for learners preparing to observe and assist under supervision, not operative instructions. Five minutes from now you should know why this operation exists, what its shape is, and which structures it is designed not to injure.