Paralysis With Saddle-Block Anesthesia in Obstetrics

ADRIANI and Roman-Vega,1in 1946, suggested the term "saddle block" to describe a technique of spinal anesthesia which provides analgesia limited to the saddle area. In essence, this technique is a conduction block of the lower lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord by an anesthetic agent dissolved in glucose to produce a hypertonic solution. However, this procedure requires the introduction of an anesthetic agent into the subarachnoid space, thus exposing the patient to the complications associated with any form of spinal anesthesia. It is the purpose of this paper to bring to the attention of physicians (obstetricians and anesthetists in particular) a delayed complication resulting from this type of anesthesia in normal obstetrical deliveries. This study results from our experience with six proved cases of chronic adhesive arachnoiditis following saddle-block anesthesia given at the St. Louis Maternity Hospital during a three-year period. In spite of many reports