_{What is a Lumbar drain?
What does a lumbar drain do?
Lumbar drain}

A lumbar drain is a catheter tube which is inserted into your back much like a lumbar puncture procedure, and is connected to a bag for the csf to drain into. It is then monitored and any extra CSF drained off as ordered by the doctor. For more precise information visit UW Health

I had a lumbar drain test last June. I was in the hospital for 3 days. They recorded the amount of fluid that had been collected, once every hour, to see if my body produces spinal fluid on a regular basis. It is very useful for the docs who are not certain if a shunt will actually work or not, and if it will help or not.
In my case, I "passed" the test and was allowed to have a lp shunt installed (which is working well!).

I had a lumbar drain installed when I had a pituitary tumor removed. While doing that surgery, they knicked my dura and discovered my IIH the hard way.... they couldn't get a patch to take over the leak and actually stay in place because the pressure was too high. So they put in a drain, and I too, 'passed' the test, and had an LP shunt installed. Unfortunately, mine failed in the first week, as my pressures were still too high, so they went back in and installed a more 'sufficient' one, which I have had since, but it still seems to be pretty hit or miss. The only thing about my drain that scared me, was accidentally pulling out the connector, which was painless when I actually did do it, but scared me! They came right in and fixed it though, no big deal.... it's not really painful, but it does help them find your opening and closing pressures!