Subdural drain

Subdural drains (SDDs) are inserted as a neurosurgical procedure to manage subdural hygromas ¹ and chronic subdural hematomas ². The drain is ideally closed system ¹. It may, for example, be a Jackson-Pratt catheter³ or subdural evacuating port system ⁴. 

To insert a SDD, a skin incision is made over the maximum thickness of the hematoma. A craniostomy is performed to access the dura mater, which is incised.  Once a hematoma is managed, a drain is placed in the subdural space. 

Treatment and prognosis

Complications

SDDs are associated with medical and surgical complications, of which the surgical complications include ⁶:

• seizure
• subdural empyema
• intracerebral hemorrhage
• epidural hematoma
• pneumocephalus
• cerebral abscess

See also

• intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor
• extraventricular drain (EVD)
• ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt