Secure fixation is essential for continous epidural
catheterization on a long-term-basis.
Adhesive tape or surgical knots were commonly used for those
patients, but the surgical knot
method has a tendency to cause strangulation of
catheter. Another invasive
technique,
subcutaneous tissue tunnelling is more safe than other
methods but requires sophisticated
technique and
time. We employed a simple
device using a
blood transfusion set for
patients who have epidural
catheters placed safely on their backs. In 120
patients treated for postoperative and
chronic pain by means of this
technique, the results were as follows 1) Five of 120
patients (4.2%) developed
backache and
pruritus, but there were no instances of
respiratory depression, local
infection and
headache. 2) Nine of 120
patients (7.5%) failed booster-
injections, but two cases were due to be non-technical errors. 3) The duration of fixation was 1-3 days in most cases (85%), the longest being for 21 days.