Regional-Anaesthesie
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Regional-Anaesthesie · Jan 1983
[Unremovable epidural catheter due to a sling and a knot. A rare complication of epidural anesthesia in obstetrics].
An epidural catheter inserted at the height of L2/3 could not be removed after spontaneous delivery of a healthy boy, manual extraction of the placenta and fixing the episiotomy. X-rays (lumbar spine a-p and lateral) were taken in order to visualize the epidural catheter's site. The catheter could only be recognized on the a-p but not on the lateral film. ⋯ In a final trial pulling hard the catheter broke. The indication for operative extraction was given. Finally the catheter fixed in the ligamentum flavum building a loop and a tight knot in the epidural space could be freed up and removed surgically.
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From 1979-1981, a total of 355 high risk patients were scheduled for vascular surgery under lumbar spinal or epidural anaesthesia. 201 patients were given spinal anaesthesia and 140 patients continuous epidural anaesthesia. 14 patients had punction failure. The analgesia for vascular surgery on the lower extremities done under spinal anaesthesia was adequate in 193 patients (98%) and insufficient in only 4 patients (2%). Epidural anaesthesia was adequate for 117 patients (96%) and insufficient in 5 (4%). ⋯ Lumbar spinal and epidural anaesthesia are therefore alternative methods to general anaesthesia for high risk patients undergoing vascular surgery, especially on lower extremities. Spinal anaesthesia offers reliable surgical analgesia and good muscle relaxation but it is limited in time. Continuous epidural anaesthesia on the other hand does guarantee unlimited operating time and provides pre- and postoperative pain relief.