Key result
Spinal needle breakage during anesthesia in a morbidly obese parturient prompts specific postoperative management.
Why the study?
The specific incidence of broken spinal and epidural needles is unknown, while decreasing general anesthesia reliance and increasing parturient BMI have likely contributed to more breakage reports.
Case Report (n=1)
Highlights the risk and management of spinal needle breakage during regional anesthesia in morbidly obese parturients.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May warrant caution during neuraxial placement in obese parturients; leaves open optimal equipment and technique modifications.
Neuraxial anesthesia has become the preferred method of anesthesia for nonemergent cesarean delivery and cases where regional anesthesia is not contraindicated. Multiple cases of broken spinal and epidural needles have been reported in the literature over the last several years; however, the specific incidence of needle breakage is still unknown. Less reliance on general anesthesia and increasing parturient body mass index (BMI) has likely contributed to more reports of broken needles during regional anesthesia for obstetric surgery. We describe a case of a broken spinal needle after attempted spinal anesthetic placement for cesarean delivery in a morbidly obese parturient, subsequent postoperative management, and current treatment recommendations.
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Shah et al. (2020) conducted a case report in Morbidly obese parturient requiring urgent cesarean section (n=1). Spinal anesthetic placement was evaluated on Broken spinal needle. Attempted spinal anesthetic placement in a morbidly obese parturient resulted in a broken spinal needle, prompting specific postoperative management and treatment recommendations.
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