Abstract

Recent reports have documented the analgesic potency of epidurally administered morphine in relieving both acute and chronic pain states. This approach is limited by the necessity for repeated injections and the risk of epidural infection when the commonly used commercial continuous percutaneous epidural catheters are implanted. The authors herein describe a technique for percutaneous epidural placement of a highly flexible Silastic® catheter with subcutaneous tunnelling away from the epidural site to reduce the infection risk. This technique may provide continuous epidural access percutaneously. Alternatively, continuous analgesia might be accomplished by a subcutaneously implanted pump attached to this epidural conduit.