| Paraplegia Following Epidural Nerve Block. |
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Heon Keun Lee, Il Woo Shin, Ju Tae Shn, Young Kyun Chung, Chul Ho Yoon, Jae Hyung Kim |
1Departments of Anesthesia, Gyeongsang National University, Chinju, Korea.
2Departments of Rehabilitation, Gyeongsang National University, Chinju, Korea.
3Departments of Diagnostic Radiology, Gyeongsang National University, Chinju, Korea. |
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| Abstract |
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Recently, epidural nerve block is widely used for postoperative and chronic pain control. Epidural nerve block has been known to be a safer procedure than spinal nerve block. But epidural nerve block can cause serious neurologic complication as spinal nerve block. We report a case of paraplegia following single epidural nerve block for pain control. The patient had been suffering from burning pain on both knee and the radiating pain of right lower extremity.
The patient after the block showed paraplegia and urinary incontinence. MRI revealed that the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord have a vascular malformation. The dilated veins and the injection of local anesthetic solutions may have precipitated latent ischemic hypoxia of the spinal cord due to raised venous pressure. This case points out the importance of accurate neurological history and examination of patient for epidural nerve block. |
| Key Words:
Anesthetic techniques, regional, epidural; Complications, neurologic, paraplegia |
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