White cord syndrome and acute tetraplegia after posterior cervical decompression

Dale N. Segal; Matthew P. Lunati; Nathan R. Kukowski; Keith W. Michael

doi:10.2106/JBJS.CC.20.00281

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White cord syndrome and acute tetraplegia after posterior cervical decompression

Journal article

Peer reviewed

White cord syndrome and acute tetraplegia after posterior cervical decompression

Dale N. Segal, Matthew P. Lunati, Nathan R. Kukowski and Keith W. Michael

JBJS case connector, Vol.11(2), e20.00281

06/11/2021

DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.CC.20.00281

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Abstract

Case: A 55-year-old man undergoes posterior cervical decompression and instrumentation for progressive cervical myelopathy and develops white cord syndrome (WCS) postoperatively with acute tetraplegia. Conclusion: WCS is a rare complication of spinal surgery that is thought to be due to reperfusion injury. We diagnosed WCS in our patient through postoperative examination consisting of acute tetraplegia and magnetic resonance imaging revealing increased signal in the cord. In this case, we used intravenous dexamethasone and mean arterial pressure above 90 mm Hg resulting in markedly improved clinical examination.

Cervical myelopathy

Decompression

Dexamethasone

Tetraplegia

White cord syndrome

Details

Title: Subtitle: White cord syndrome and acute tetraplegia after posterior cervical decompression
Creators: Dale N. Segal - Harvard University
Matthew P. Lunati - Emory University
Nathan R. Kukowski - Emory University
Keith W. Michael - Emory University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: JBJS case connector, Vol.11(2), e20.00281
DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.CC.20.00281
ISSN: 2160-3251
eISSN: 2160-3251
Language: English
Date published: 06/11/2021
Academic Unit: Orthopedics and Rehabilitation
Record Identifier: 9985167644702771

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