Mechanism of Chronic Iatrogenic CSF Leak Following Dural Puncture-Ventral Dural Leak: Case Report

( Reg Anesth Pain Med . 2024;49:293–297. doi:10.1136/rapm-2023-105197) Unintended dural puncture (UDP) is a possible complication of epidural catheter placement, which can cause acute postdural puncture headache (PDPH). The resulting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak can heal without treatment, but the third most common cause of lawsuits against anesthesiologists by obstetric patients was headache (HA), showing that the impact of these symptoms is not benign and can be long-term. This article is a case report focused on a patient with UDP that reported persistent severe symptoms despite treatment with epidural blood patch (EBP) triggering further investigation and the confirmation of a persistent ventral dural puncture.