OBJECTIVE: To inform obstetricians of a serious complication of forceps rotations of 90 degrees or more--high cervical spinal cord injury in neonates. METHODS: We reviewed the obstetric aspects of 15 cases of high cervical spinal cord birth injury diagnosed during 1982-1994 at two tertiary-care children's hospitals in Canada. RESULTS: The common feature in all cases was a forceps cephalic delivery, almost always a rotation of 90 degrees or more from the occipitoposterior or occipitotransverse position. CONCLUSION: High cervical spinal cord injury in neonates is a rare but specific complication of forceps rotation.
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S MENTICOGLOU (1995) studied this question.
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