• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.156-158
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• 1995

Total spinal anesthesia is a well documented serious life threatening complication which results from an attempted spinal or epidural analgesia. We had an accidental total spinal anesthesia associated with a cranial nerve paralysis and an eventual unconsciousness during epidural analgesia. A 45-year-old female with an uterine myoma was scheduled for a total abdominal hysterectomy under the epidural analgesia. A lumbar tapping for the epidural analgesia was performed in a sitting position at a level between $L_{3-4}$, using a 18 gauge Tuohy needle. Using the "Loss of Resistance" technique to identify the epidural space, the first attempt failed; however, the second attempt with the same level and the technique was successful. The epidural space was identified erroneously. However, fluid was dripping very slowly through the needle, which we thought was the fluid from the normal saline which was injected from the outside to identify the space. Then 20 ml of 2% lidocaine was administered into the epidural space. Shortly after the spinal injection of lidocaine, many signs of total spinal anesthesia could be clearly observed, accompanied by the following progressing signs of intracrainal nerve paralysis: phrenic nerve, vagus nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve and trigeminal nerve in that order. Then female was intubated and her respiration was controlled without delay. The scheduled operation was carried out uneventfully for 2 hours and 20 minutes. The patient recovered gradually in th4e reverse order four hours from that time.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.163-166
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• 2009

The superiority of air versus saline for identifying the epidural space remains unestablished. Epidural anesthesia using a loss of resistance technique (LORT) with air is associated with increasing complications of dural puncture-induced headaches and neurological and hemodynamic changes. Here, we described a case of pneumocephalus with a large amount of air that was accompanied by severe headache and nuchal and chest pain occurring after epidural block using LORT with air for combined spinal-epidural anesthesia.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.262-267
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• 2005

Epidural block under general anesthesia has been widely used to control postoperative pain. In this anesthetic state many hemodynamic parameters are changed. Moreover pulse transit time is influenced by this memodynamic change. m change in the finger and the toe due to relaxation of arterial wall muscle after general anesthesia and epidural block under general anesthesia. This study, in the both general anesthesia and epidural block under general anesthesia, ${\Delta}PTT$ of the toe and of the finger are measured. In addition, ${\Delta}PTT$(toe-finger) of the epidural block under general anesthesia and of the general anesthesia were compared.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.249-252
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• 2001

Total spinal anesthesia is a serious life threatening complication of spinal and epidural anesthesia. We report an accidental total spinal anesthesia developed during a thoracic epidural block in a practitioner's pain clinic. A 69-year-old female with post-herpetic neuralgia was treated by a thoracic epidural block. A thoracic tapping for the epidural block was performed in the right lateral position at a level between $T_{5-6}$, using a 23 gauge Tuohy needle. After the epidural space was identified, a mixed solution of 10 ml of 0.3% lidocaine and 20 mg of triamcinolone was injected into the epidural space. After removal of the syringe, fluid was dripping through the needle. The patient subsequently complained of dyspnea and dizziness, and she became unconscious. She was intubated immediately and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed because there was no pulse palpable. The patient recovered an hour after transfer to a general hospital and was discharged without any further complication 19 days later.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.519-522
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• 1991

Pain reflex and anesthetic state in swine with xylazine epidural anesthesia were observed. In xylazine epidural anesthesia, dosages of 0.50mg/kg BW for analgesia of perineal region and 0.7550mg/kg for analgesia of low abdominal wall were required. Regional anesthesia was induced 5~20 min after epidural injection of xylazine and recovered 90~120 min after administration. The results indicated that xylazine as an epidural local anesthetic was useful in swine.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.265-269
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• 1993

Subdural block is a rare but well recognized complication of epidural anesthesia. The placement of local anesthetics into the subdural space can lead to potentially life-threatening conditions. A healthy 46-year-old women underwent total abdominal hysterectomy under continuous lumber epidural anesthesia. The technical procedure for continuous epidural catheterization went smoothly without a single problem. However, signs of high epidural block such as apnea, cranial nerve paralysis and pupil dilatation developed gradually, about 20 minutes after the epidural injection of 2% lidocaine 20 ml through the epidural catheter. Such extensive segmental block can only be explained as the result of injection into subdural space even if it was not confirmed radiologically.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.44-47
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• 2011

We report a case of failed epidural anesthesia despite successful identification of the epidural space, loss of resistance technique, hanging drop method and drip infusion. This case evaluated the use of computed tomography to confirm epidural catheter position, which showed the catheter accidentally positioned at the T2 lamina. Because epidural anesthesia can even after successful procedure using standardized techniques such as loss of resistance, we recommend performing the procedure under fluoroscopic guidance to improve success rate and patient safety.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.288-291
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• 2006

Epidural analgesia using an epidural catheter is an effective method to relieve the pain during the rehabilitating procedure for postoperative orthopedic patients. Total spinal anesthesia is one of the possible complications of epidural catheterization which can lead to a life-threatening condition. Achondroplasia is the most common form of short-limbed dwarfism resulting from a failure of endochondral bone formation. In patients suffering with short stature syndrome like achondroplasia, the incidence and risk of total spinal anesthesia during epidural anesthesia may increase because of the technical difficulty and structural anomaly of the spine. We report here on a 35-year old female patient with a height of a 115 cm. She was diagnosed as achondroplasia and she had a previous Ilizarov operation; both tibial lengthening and correction of valgus were done. No specific event occurred during epidural catheterization. Immediately after the injection of a test dose via epidural catheter, the patient became hypotensive, drowsy and showed weakness of both her upper and lower extremities. The symptoms were disappeared after 40 minutes. The catheter was removed on the next day. We concluded that the total spinal anesthesia was caused by intrathecal injection of local anesthetics through the epidural catheter, and the anesthesia then migrated into the subarachonoid space.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2010

Background: Epidural anesthesia is widely used to provide pain relief, whether for surgical anesthesia, postoperative analgesia, treatment of chronic pain, or to facilitate painless childbirth. In many cases, however, the epidural catheter is inserted blindly and the indwelling catheter position is almost always uncertain. Methods: In this study, the loss-of-resistance technique was used and an imaging agent was injected through the indwelling epidural anesthesia catheter to confirm the position of its tip and examine the migration rate. Study subjects were patients scheduled to undergo surgery using general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia. Placement of the epidural catheter was confirmed postoperatively by injection of an imaging agent and X-ray imaging. Results: The indwelling epidural catheter was placed between upper thoracic vertebrae (n = 83; incorrect placement, n = 5), lower thoracic vertebrae (n = 123; incorrect placement, n = 5), and lower thoracic vertebra-lumbar vertebra (n = 46; incorrect placement, n = 7). In this study, a relatively high frequency of incorrectly placed epidural catheters using the loss-of-resistance technique was observed, and it was found that incorrect catheter placement resulted in inadequate analgesia during surgery. Conclusions: Although the loss-of-resistance technique is easy and convenient as a method for epidural catheter placement, it frequently results in inadequate placement of epidural catheters. Care should be taken when performing this procedure.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.544-546
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• 2010

Paraplegia following spinal epidural anesthesia is extremely rare. Various lesions for neurologic complications have been documented in the literature. We report a 66-year-old female who developed paraplegia after left knee surgery for osteoarthritis under spinal epidural anesthesia. In the recovery room, paraplegia and numbness below T4 vertebra was checked. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan showed a spinal thoracic intradural extramedullary (IDEM) tumor. After extirpation of the tumor, the motor weakness improved to the grade of 3/5. If a neurologic deficit following spinal epidural anesthesia does not resolve, a MRI should be performed without delay to accurately diagnose the cause of the deficit and optimal treatment should be rendered for the causative lesion.