Guenter Sprotte

Biographical Timeline

• Born in 1945, Germany
• 1960s–1970s – Medical training in anaesthesiology in Germany
• 1972–2010 – Worked at Universitätsklinik Würzburg; later became head of the pain clinic
• Late 1970s – Develops concept of a modified atraumatic spinal needle to reduce post–dural puncture headache (PDPH), refining the earlier Whitacre pencil-point design
• 1979 – Filed German patent “Stahlkanüle für die Spinal- und Leitungsanästhesie sowie für die Lumbalpunktion” (Steel cannula for spinal and conduction anaesthesia and lumbar puncture)
• November 3, 1981 – Patent granted [DE 3020926 C2]
• 1987 – Published Eine „atraumatische“ Universalkanüle für einzeitige Regionalanaesthesien with Schedel and Pajunk. First formal classification of a spinal needle as “atraumatic”
• 1990 – Experimental confirmation of reduced peripheral nerve trauma with the Sprotte needle design (Reg Anaesth 1990;13:11–15)
• 1990 – Obstetric PDPH study (Cesarini et al., Anaesthesia 1990) demonstrated 0% PDPH in 55 Caesarean patients using 24G Sprotte vs 14.5% with cutting needle
• 1993 – Design refinement: lateral eye moved closer to the tip and shortened to improve CSF flow and structural integrity (as discussed in Regional Anesthesia 1996)
• 1990s–2000s – Widespread international adoption of the Sprotte atraumatic needle in obstetric, neurological, and ambulatory spinal anaesthesia
• 2005 – American Academy of Neurology classifies atraumatic (pencil-point) needles as evidence class I, recommendation level A for reduction of PDPH
• 2009 – Awarded the German Schmerzpreis
• 2010s – Retired

---

Medical Eponyms

Sprotte spinal needle (1979; modified 1993)

Atraumatic (pencil-point) spinal needle with a rounded ogival tip and elongated lateral opening (“eye”) just proximal to the tip.

• Tip design: Closed, ogival (bullet-shaped) non-cutting tip
• Orifice: Enlarged lateral eye designed to improve CSF return and reduce injection resistance
• Mechanism: Displaces and separates dural fibres (atraumatic) rather than cutting them
• Clinical effect: Reduced incidence of PDPH compared with cutting needles; widely adopted in obstetric and neurological practice
• Design evolution: 1993 redesign moved the eye closer to the tip and shortened it to improve integrity and mitigate safety concerns

Feature	Quincke (1891)	Whitacre (1951)	Sprotte (1979)
Tip design	Sharp cutting bevel	Solid conical “pencil-point” with small lateral side-hole	Rounded ogival (bullet-shaped) tip with larger lateral eye
Effect on dura	Slices longitudinal fibres → larger persistent defect	Separates fibres → elastic recoil and closure	Preserves atraumatic separation while improving CSF flow
CSF flow	Rapid, direct flow	Slower return; more directional flow	Improved flow compared with Whitacre
PDPH risk	Higher incidence	Lower incidence	Low incidence (atraumatic class)
Design evolution	Original cutting needle	First widely adopted atraumatic design	Modified eye position/length in 1993 to improve strength and safety

Clinical Evidence – Atraumatic Performance

Early clinical series supported the classification of the Sprotte needle as “atraumatic,” with markedly reduced rates of post–dural puncture headache (PDPH) compared with cutting needles.

In an obstetric spinal anaesthesia study (Caesarean section), PDPH occurred in 8 of 55 patients (14.5%) using a cutting (diamond-tip) needle, compared with 0 of 55 patients (0%) using a 24G Sprotte needle. [Cesarini 1990]

Subsequent engineering analyses examined whether the large lateral eye was necessary for CSF flow and raised concerns regarding tip strength and the potential for partial extradural injection if the orifice straddled the dura. These findings prompted refinement of the design in 1993, with repositioning and shortening of the eye to improve structural integrity and injection behaviour.

---

Major Publications

• Pajunk H, Sprotte G. Stahlkanüle für die Spinal- und Leitungsanästhesie sowie für die Lumbalpunktion 1979 Patent
• Sprotte G, Schedel R, Pajunk H, Pajunk H. Eine “atraumatische” Universalkanüle für einzeitige Regionalanaesthesien. Klinische Ergebnisse nach sechsjähriger Erprobung bei über 30,000 Regionalanaesthesien [An “atraumatic” universal needle for single-shot regional anesthesia: clinical results and a 6 year trial in over 30,000 regional anesthesias]. Reg Anaesth. 1987 Jul;10(3):104-8.

---

References

Eponymous terms

• Cesarini M, Torrielli R, Lahaye F, Mene JM, Cabiro C. Sprotte needle for intrathecal anaesthesia for caesarean section: incidence of postdural puncture headache. Anaesthesia. 1990 Aug;45(8):656-8.
• Aglan MY, Stansby PK. Modification to the Sprotte spinal needle. Anaesthesia. 1992 Jun;47(6):506-7.
• Currir DS, Bevacqua BK. Sprotte spinal needle: a new design. Reg Anesth. 1996 Mar-Apr;21(2):172-3.
• Calthorpe N. The history of spinal needles: getting to the point. Anaesthesia. 2004 Dec;59(12):1231-41.
• Boulton T. Spinal anaesthesia during the 19th and 20th Centuries – cocaine and controversy. Anaesthesia News Digital, April 2021