Transient paraplegia following elective infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair. Case report

Paraplegia is a well known complication after surgery for thoracic and thoraco-abdominal aneurysm but is very rare when the level involved is lower than the renal arteries. It is seen most often after treatment of ruptured aneurysm and very few cases are found in the literature reporting spinal cord ischemia after elective repair of an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. A new case of transient paraplegia following elective repair of an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm is reported and different aspects of this complication are discussed. In our case, probably the interruption of blood flow in lumbar arteries and the duration of crossclamping were likely contributive factors and it suggest that a failure to appreciate the significance of collateral sources of spinal cord blood flow may be responsible for at least some cases of postoperative paraplegia.