Korean J Anesthesiol.  2010 Dec;59(Suppl):S69-S72. 10.4097/kjae.2010.59.S.S69.

Foraminal stenosis complicating retained broken epidural needle tip: A case report

• You JW
• Cho YH

• KMID: 2237356
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2010.59.S.S69

Abstract

Lumbar epidural anesthesia is useful in a variety of chronic benign pain syndromes, including lumbar radiculopathy, low back pain syndrome, spinal stenosis, and vertebral compression fractures. Given the increased number of epidural nerve blocks being performed, some have reported unexplained complications of a transient or permanent nature and with varying degrees of severity. However, no case has been reported of a broken epidural needle tip retained in the lumbar facet joint area. This represents the first reported case presentation of foraminal stenosis developing in a patient after a retained epidural needle tip.

Keyword

Broken epidural needle tip; Epidural anesthesia; Spinal stenosis

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia, Epidural
Constriction, Pathologic
Fractures, Compression
Humans
Low Back Pain
Needles
Nerve Block
Radiculopathy
Spinal Stenosis
Zygapophyseal Joint