Regional anaesthesia for labor adn delivery in a parturient with neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy (tomaculous neuropathy)

Tomaculous neuropathy (or hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy [HNLPP]) is a rare and hereditary disease which incidence has probably been underestimated. It is characterised by demyelination resulting in numbness and weakness after nerve pressure, injury or stretch. Despite a well-documented genetic pathophysiologic mechanism, implications for anaesthesia in patients with HNLPP are only speculative and the use of regional anaesthesia is debatable. We report here the case of a patient with HNLPP who was followed during two consecutive pregnancies in the same hospital and for whom an expert of the SOS-RA hotline service was consulted before each delivery. For the first delivery, epidural analgesia was performed for labour pain control but a caesarean section was necessary because of failure to progress (0.0625% bupivacaine with 0.2 microg/ml sufentanil for labour then 2% lidocaine with adrenaline for surgery). Two years later, the patient was again seen for a preanaesthetic visit because elective Caesarean section was planned. Spinal anaesthesia using hyperbaric bupivacaine and sufentanil was used. Both deliveries were uneventful and there were no neurologic complaints in the postpartum periods.