Quadriplegia in a patient who underwent posterior fossa surgery in the prone position. Case report.
Quadriplegia is a well-known complication of posterior fossa surgery performed while the patient is in the sitting position but is rarely associated with the prone position. A case of an 18-year-old man with a cerebellar medulloblastoma is described. There was no evidence of previous cervical disease. The patient suffered quadriplegia after undergoing surgery in the prone position. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a long hyperintense C2-T1 lesion on T2-weighted sequences. The authors speculate that, during the prolonged period in which the neck was in hyperflexion, overstretching of the cervical spinal cord and compromise of its blood supply might have caused this devastating complication.
Rau
Cheng-Shyuan
CS
Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung University, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Liang
Cheng-Loong
CL
Lui
Chun-Chung
CC
Lee
Tao-Chen
TC
Lu
Kang
K
D000293:Adolescent; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000601:surgery*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D016684:Prone Position / Q000502:physiology*; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology