Ommaya reservoir
Depósito de Ommaya
- Date
- 1963 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Ayub K. Ommaya
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
An implantable device consisting of a catheter in a brain ventricle connected to a reservoir under the scalp, used to deliver drugs or withdraw cerebrospinal fluid.
What it led to
- enabled intrathecal chemotherapy for brain tumors and leukemia/lymphoma
- allowed palliative pain management via intracerebroventricular opioids
- became a standard tool in neurosurgery and neuro-oncology