Paraplegia after thoracotomy under combined general and epidural anesthesia in a child.
A 9-year-old boy underwent a thoracotomy for excision of his right third rib under combined general and epidural anesthesia for a Ewings sarcoma. Postoperatively, he was found to have a complete T2-3 paraplegia. Permanent paraplegia was described as a rare complication of thoracotomy in adults, and very rarely after epidural analgesia in adults and babies. This was the first report in a child.
Allison
C E
CE
Department of Anesthesiology, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. c.e.allison@amc.uva.nl
Aronson
D C
DC
Geukers
V G M
VG
van den Berg
R
R
Schlack
W S
WS
Hollmann
M W
MW
D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology*; D012272:Ribs / Q000601:surgery; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000601:surgery; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017211:Treatment Failure