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High cervical spinal cord injury in neonates delivered with forceps: report of 15 cases
S M Menticoglou1, M Perlman, F A Manning
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Mannitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Objective:
To inform obstetricians of a serious complication of forceps rotations of 90 degrees or more--high cervical spinal cord injury in neonates.
Methods:
We reviewed the obstetric aspects of 15 cases of high cervical spinal cord birth injury diagnosed during 1982-1994 at two tertiary-care children's hospitals in Canada.
Results:
The common feature in all cases was a forceps cephalic delivery, almost always a rotation of 90 degrees or more from the occipitoposterior or occipitotransverse position.
Conclusion:
High cervical spinal cord injury in neonates is a rare but specific complication of forceps rotation.