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Neuropathic pain syndrome as an occult manifestation of injury of the spinal cord after surgical repair of aortic coarctation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2008

Luc M Beauchesne ,
Angela Mailis  and
Gary D Webb
Luc M Beauchesne
Affiliation:
Division of Cardiology, University of Ottawa; Canada
Angela Mailis
Affiliation:
Comprehensive Pain Program and Division of Physical Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital and University of Toronto, Canada
Gary D Webb*
Affiliation:
Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada
*
Gary D Webb, Toronto Congenital Cardiac Center for Adults, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4, Canada. Tel: 416–340–4752; Fax: 416–340–5014; Email: Gary.Webb@uhn.on.ca
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Abstract

Injury to the spinal cord injury with paraplegia, is a rare complication of surgical repair of aortic coarctation recognized immediately post-operatively. We present the case of a 41-year-old male undergoing surgery for restenosis at the site of a repair. Intra-operatively, he suffered inadvertent injury to an intercostal arterial branch during isolation of the aorta below the graft. Over the following months, he developed unusual symptoms involving the legs and genitourinary tract which, only after extensive investigations, were attributed to ischemic damage to the spinal cord related to the surgery. We suspect that similar syndromes reflecting injury to the spinal cord injury may be unrecognized following surgical repair of coarctation.

Keywords

aortic coarctationspinal cord injuryneuropathic painpost-operative complications
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , July 2000 , pp. 413 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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