Stephan Williams | PubMed Health

PubMed2004

Bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsy after unintentional dural puncture.

PURPOSE: Bilateral sixth nerve palsy is a known though uncommon complication following dural puncture. The recommended treatment consists of hydration and alternate monocular occlusion. The value and the timing of an epidural blood patch (EBP) for sixth nerve palsy remains controversial as some authors have demonstrated benefits in performing an EBP early in course of the nerve palsy whereas others have not found any advantage when an EBP was performed later. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 40-yr-old woman developed bilateral sixth nerve palsy ten days after an unintentional dural puncture. An EBP was done within 24 hr after the onset of the symptoms and immediate improvement of the diplopia was noted by the patient and confirmed by an ophthalmologist. Complete resolution of the diplopia occurred 36 days after the dural puncture. CONCLUSION: Blood patching within 24 hr of the onset of diplopia may be a reasonable treatment for ocular nerve palsy as it relieved the postdural puncture headache and produced partial improvement of the diplopia.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMed2003

Partial inferior vena cava snaring to control ischemic left ventricular dysfunction.

PURPOSE: To describe the hemodynamic and intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic evaluation of cardiac systolic and diastolic function in a patient undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OP-CABG) surgery who developed pulmonary artery hypertension controlled by inferior vena cava (IVC) snaring. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 63-yr-old man was referred to our hospital for elective OP-CABG surgery. His preoperative ventriculopathy revealed a decreased systolic function (ejection fraction of 35%), and a mild mitral regurgitation. Intraoperatively, after application of the stabilizer and clamping of the diagonal artery, he developed a marked increase in pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) with a decrease in systemic arterial pressure, non responsive to iv norepinephrine and nitroglycerin. Transesophageal echocardiographic evaluation revealed a marked decrease in systolic function and presence of a restrictive diastolic filling pattern. Partial IVC snaring decreased the venous return and PAP decreased cardiac chamber dimensions, improved systolic function and improved diastolic filling pattern. CONCLUSION: Partial IVC snaring was used successfully to treat a hemodynamically unstable patient with sudden increase in PAP caused by ischemic left ventricular failure during OP-CABG.

Coronary Artery Bypass↗