Abstract
Continuous epidural anesthesia is a common anesthetic technique used in surgery and pain management. The insertion of an epidural catheter may be associated with nerve root irritation or migration into epidural veins. Suspecting that the design of conventional epidural catheters caused such undesirable events, we designed a new epidural-catheter-shaped pig tail. Study 1: Twelve patients with chronic pain were studied. Epidural catheter placement under fluoroscopy revealed that this new catheter was shaped like a pig tail immediately after its insertion into the epidural space. We noticed that contrast medium (Iopamidol 3ml) extended bilaterally in eleven patients. Study 2: Fifty patients who underwent elective surgery were studied. We examined paresthesia during insertion of the catheter. After the operations, we radiologically evaluated the spread of 3 ml contrast medium. Every catheter was in a good position and contrast medium extended bilaterally. We conclude that this new pig tail catheter is very useful in pain control and clinical anesthesia.
