Prevention of spinal cord injury after cross-clamping of the thoracic aorta

Paraplegia has been a devastating and unpredictable complication following surgical procedures involving temporary occlusion of the thoracic aorta. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of the pressure gradient between the aortic pressure distal to the occluding aortic clamp and cerebrospinal fluid pressure, defined as “Relative spinal cord perfusion pressure” (RSPP) on the development of the ischemic spinal cord injury. In twelve mongrel dogs, the thoracic aorta just distal to the left subclavian artery was cross-clamped. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) were generated by peripheral stimulation of the bilateral peroneal nerves. After complete loss of SEP was evident, six dogs, Group 1, were subjected to occlusion of the descending thoracic aorta for a period of 20 minutes with maintenance of 0 mmHg of RSPP, by an injection of normal saline into the subarachnoid space. Six other dogs, Group 2, likewise underwent 40 minutes of aortic occlusion, keeping the RSPP at 15 mmHg by withdrawal ofcerebrospinal fluid. All the dogs in Group 1 developed paraplegia, whereas all the dogs in Group 2 demonstrated complete postoperative recovery without any neurological sequelae. Thus, RSPP is a most important factor in the development of the ischemic spinal cord injury during the temporary thoracic aortic occlusion.