[Spinal cord ischemia after surgery for arch and aortic valve replacement with elephant trunk for plural thoracic...

A 62-years old man had plural aneurysms from the aortic arch to the descending aorta. Y-grafting had been performed twice for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. We performed the first operation which involved aortic valve and arch replacement under deep hypothermia with selective cerebral perfusion. During the operation, hemodynamics was stable, but after the operation he developed paraplegia due to ischemic change in the spinal cord. It was considered that the cause of the ischemia might have been the changing of the blood supply to the spinal cord. In patients with severe atherosclerosis, the blood supply for the spinal cord needs to be very strictly determined.