For chronic subdural hematoma, placement of a Blake drain with a two-burr-hole craniotomy is often performed.

The placement of such drains carries the risk of penetrating the brain surface or damaging superficial venous structures.

Fichtner et al. describe the use of a Nelaton catheter for the placement of a subdural drain in two-burr-hole trephination for chronic subdural hematoma.

With the two-burr-hole method, the Nelaton catheter could be removed easily via the frontal burr hole after the Blake drain was in place.

This method allows the surgeon to safely direct the catheter into the correct position in the subdural space ¹⁾.