Abducens nerve palsy as a rare complication of spinal surgery: a case report.
We describe a case of diplopia due to abducens nerve palsy after upper cervical spinal surgery. A 22-year-old woman presented with a chief complaint of numbness and weakness in her left hand. A spinal cord tumor was detected at the C1/2 level. These complaints disappeared after resection of the spinal cord tumor; however, she presented with diplopia due to abducens nerve palsy 3 days after surgery. Brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed no abnormalities. Within 1 month there was complete spontaneous resolution of the abducens nerve dysfunction. It is important for spinal surgeons to be aware of cranial nerve palsy as a potential complication of cervical spinal surgery.
Nakagawa
Hiroyuki
H
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Suwa Red Cross Hospital, 5-11-50 Kogandori, Suwa 392-8510, Japan.
Kamimura
Mikio
M
Uchiyama
Shigeharu
S
Takahara
Kenji
K
Itsubo
Toshiro
T
Miyasaka
Tadaatsu
T
D020434:Abducens Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D004172:Diplopia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*