Reversal of Acute Spinal Cord Injury in the Immediate Post-Operative Period After Thoracoabdominal Aneurysm Repair with CSF Drainage.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal cord injury after thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery is a devastating and unpredictable complication (1). With surgical manipulation, particularly with aortic clamping, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure may rise, and its pressure exceeds the spinal arterial pressure, spinal perfusion may be reduced, leading to neurological dysfunction.

METHODS AND RESULTS: This clinical case reports to a 70-year-old male patient with an early onset of post-operative paraesthesia of the lower limbs in the immediate post-operative period of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Reversal of the neurological deficit was achieved after emergency CSF drainage.

CONCLUSION: CSF drainage has a therapeutic potential value of reducing its pressure, allowing an improvement of spinal perfusion pressure, therefore diminishing the risk of an ischemic and permanent lesion(2), thus it may have a role in preventing and/or treating acute paraplegia.