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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 45, 903-906, Copyright © 1998 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

ARTICLES

Massive bleeding during spine surgery in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis

JE Tetzlaff, HJ Yoon and G Bell
Department of General Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA. tetzlaj@cesmtp.ccf.org

PURPOSE: Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with pathophysiology that has important anaesthetic implications. We report a case where the sequelae of ankylosing spondylitis may have been responsible for massive bleeding during emergency spine surgery. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 69 yr old man with long standing ankylosing spondylitis sustained a complex fracture of the lumbar spine in a fall, and was scheduled for stabilization of the spine. Under general anaesthesia, prone positioning was difficult because of the extreme spinal deformity. During exploration, dilatation of epidural veins was encountered and sustained haemorrhage was encountered throughout the surgical procedure. Estimated blood loss was 17,000 ml which was replaced with 31 units of packed red blood cells, 3200 ml of salvaged blood, 18 units of fresh frozen plasma, 26 units of platelets, 1,000 ml of albumin and 9,000 ml of crystalloid. CONCLUSIONS: Extreme deformity of the spine led to positioning difficulties that may have contributed to massive blood loss during complex spine surgery. Difficulties with placement in the prone position in-patients with advanced ankylosing spondylitis should be anticipated.




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Copyright © 1998 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.