Spinal cord infarction following central-line insertion

Hemothorax is a recognized complication of central line insertion into the jugular or subclavian vein. We describe a case of hemothorax consequent upon acute dialysis catheter insertion, which resulted in spinal cord infarction and quadriplegia. We postulate that the extensive mediastinal shift induced after insertion of the catheter resulted in stretching of the veins draining the cord with a resultant drop in perfusion pressure and infarction. This case highlights a hitherto unreported complication of this procedure.     

Spinal cord infarction and paraplegia after peripheral vascular surgery with spinal anesthesia

Paraplegia after peripheral vascular surgery under spinal anesthesia is rare and may be a result of multiple factors, including hematoma, trauma from the needle, toxic injection, and spinal cord infarction. We report a case of T(10) paraplegia after uncomplicated spinal anesthesia in a patient undergoing emergency thrombectomy and femoral-popliteal bypass.     

Non-occlusive mesenteric infarction following cardiovascular surgery

In the majority of patients with intestinal infarction, it is generally agreed that the occlusion of mesenteric arteries or vein is the primary etiologic factor; however, some showed no evidence of thrombosis, embolization or vasculitis as the causative factor. In many patients, this particular type of infarction is the terminal event of the episode. From October 1977 to December 1986, 24 patients with mesenteric infarction were investigated following cardiovascular surgery in our institute. Among them, 15 were diagnosed with organic vascular occlusion; however, the other 9 showed no evidence of thromboembolism or any other organic vascular occlusive lesion of mesenteric vessels and were diagnosed as non-occlusive mesenteric infarctions. All of these patients were in severe cardiac failure (LOS) postoperatively. There was no typical symptom, although abdominal fullness and diarrhea were the major and consistent findings. In blood chemical analysis, the enzymatic levels such as serum GOT, LDH and CPK were significantly elevated and discrepancy between serum GOT and serum GPT was observed. In this clinical situation, it was difficult to establish a correct diagnosis mainly because of the few signs and symptoms present relating to the mesenteric infarction. On the other hand, when the correct diagnosis was made, these patients were too critically ill to be treated conservatively. The outcome of these patients was grave and all of them died which showed 100% of mortality rate. The conservative management did not produce favorable progress, which accelerated LOS and prevented patients from recovering from cardiac failure. The aggressive surgical approach to this particular type of acute mesenteric ischemia might have offered an improved prognosis from these catastrophic events.     

Spinal cord infarction following intraaortic balloon support

Infarction of the lumbar and sacral spinal cord was demonstrated at autopsy of a 72-year-old man in whom acute paraplegia developed following coronary artery bypass grafting and atrial septal defect repair with intraoperative insertion of an intraaortic balloon. Autopsy findings showed that infarcts of the spinal cord and other key organs were caused by critical occlusion of small arterioles by cholesterol emboli. These emboli apparently arose as a result of the fragmentation of atheromatous plaques within the aorta during use of the intraaortic balloon pump with subsequent embolization and occlusion of small blood vessels.     

Spinal cord infarction following endoscopic variceal ligation

STUDY DESIGN: A case report of spinal cord infarction following endoscopic variceal ligation. OBJECTIVES: To describe an exceedingly rare case of spinal cord infarction following endoscopic variceal ligation. SETTING: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kagoshima, Japan. METHODS: A 75-year-old woman with cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus, who was admitted to our hospital for the treatment of esophageal varices, experienced numbness of the hands and lower extremities bilaterally following an endoscopic variceal ligation procedure. Sensory and motor dysfunction below C6 level progressed rapidly, resulting in inability to move the lower extremities the following day. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine revealed abnormal spinal cord signal on T2-weighted images from approximately C6 through T5 levels, which was diagnosed as spinal cord infarction. RESULTS: The patient underwent hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Her symptoms and signs related to spinal cord infarction gradually remitted, and nearly complete disappearance of neurological deficits was noted within 3 months after the start of treatment. CONCLUSION: We speculate that the pathogenesis of the present case may have involved congestion of the abdominal-epidural-spinal cord venous network owing to ligation of esophageal varices and increased thoracoabdominal cavity pressure.     

Spinal cord ischemia following surgery for aortoiliac occlusive disease

A 70-year-old man had aortobifemoral bypass for severe aortoiliac occlusive disease. He developed spinal cord ischemia with anterior spinal artery syndrome. He had minimal recovery of muscle function, multiple postoperative complications, and 11 months postoperatively he died. Spinal cord ischemia is a rare and unpredictable complication of abdominal aortic surgery. It most often has occurred following surgery for aneurysm but can also occur after apparently routine surgery for occlusive disease.     

Spinal cord ischemia following coronary artery bypass surgery

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with a low risk of paraplegia. Spinal cord ischemia causing paraplegia following off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery has not been described previously. We now describe a patient who developed paraplegia following OPCAB and review the literature on spinal cord ischemia following CABG surgery.     

Spinal cord infarction following vertebral angiography: clinical and pathological findings

Spinal cord damage from radiographic contrast material has been known to occur in both spinal and nonspinal angiographic procedures. Reported here is cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) during vertebral angiography. During the procedure, the patient displayed signs of acute cervical spinal cord irritation that should have been taken as a warning of impending injury. Autopsy 9 years later showed evidence of central cervical spinal cord necrosis. The pathological findings are similar to those seen in animal models of contrast media-induced SCI; and the pathophysiological mechanisms of such injury are discussed.     

急性肠系膜血管阻塞性疾病16例诊疗体会

目的:探讨急性肠系膜血管阻塞性疾病的诊断和治疗方法.方法:对我院自2000年1月至2008年12月收治的16例急性肠系膜血管阻塞性疾病的临床资料进行回顾性分析.结果:16例患者中有9例为急性肠系膜静脉血栓形成,7例为急性肠系膜动脉闭塞性疾患,其中1例同时存在肠系膜静脉以及动脉的闭塞.腹部X线以及B超检查对于该病诊断敏感性较低,而增强CT扫描则有较高敏感性.手术治疗13例,围手术期死亡3例,3例急性肠系膜静脉血栓形成患者保守治疗成功.结论:增强CT检查对于急性肠系膜血管阻塞性疾病有较高的诊断价值.早期诊断、积极的抗凝治疗、适时的手术干预是提高治疗效果的关键.