title: Abducens nerve palsy as a rare complication of spinal surgery: a case report.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Suwa Red Cross Hospital, 5-11-50 Kogandori, Suwa 392-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Shigeharu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahara
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itsubo
authors.forename: Tadaatsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyasaka
mesh_terms: 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*