Outpatient myelography with fine-needle technique: an appraisal.

Postmyelography headaches are produced mostly by CSF leakage at the dural puncture site and are therefore largely dependent on the size of the needle used. Our study of 300 consecutive outpatients who had lumbar myelograms performed with 25- and 26-gauge spinal needles shows that the procedure has become virtually innocuous. We recommend that 26-gauge spinal needles be widely adopted as the standard for fluoroscopically controlled intrathecal injections of contrast material.