Thoracic spinal cord (T3-T4) transection in a breech-presenting, cesarean-section-delivered preterm infant

Thoracic spinal cord transection below the origin of the brachial plexus is a rare event among breech-presenting infants delivered by cesarean section. A case of a thoracic (T3-T4) spinal cord injury with paravertebral hemorrhage mimicking catastrophic intracranial bleeding is presented to illustrate the value of careful application of traction or any longitudinal stretching forces during fetal head extraction.