Paraplegia after mastoidectomy under general anesthesia.
We report a case of complete paraplegia after general anesthesia for a right tympanomastoidectomy without any apparent predisposing factors related to the surgical procedure or the anesthetic. The case raises the possibility that the combination of neck rotation and relative hypotension may precipitate paraplegia in patients with preexisting spinal chord pathology.
Ortega
Rafael
R
Department of Anesthesiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA. rortega@bu.edu
Suzuki
Suzuko
S
Sekhar
Pavan
P
Stram
John R
JR
Rengasamy
Sundara K
SK
D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007022:Hypotension / Q000139:chemically induced; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008417:Mastoiditis / Q000601:surgery*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome