Spinal anaesthesia for Caesarean section in a patient with a cervical arteriovenous malformation.

PURPOSE: Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) of the spinal cord are rare. We report the successful management of a patient with a cervical spinal cord AVM undergoing Caesarean section delivery, using a spinal anaesthetic.

CLINICAL FEATURES: Based on previous radiological investigations, the patient was known to have an AVM at the third cervical level of her spinal cord. After application of monitors and intravenous administration of 1 L normal saline, a 25 g Whitacre needle was inserted into the subarachnoid space at the L3-4 interspace. Spinal anaesthesia was established with a solution consisting of hyperbaric spinal bupivacaine 12 mg, fentanyl 12.5 micrograms and epidural morphine 0.25 mg. There was no neurological deficit during hospital stay or after discharge.

CONCLUSION

The safe outcome of spinal anaesthesia for our patient is encouraging. The presence of spinal cord AVM at the cervical region is not an absolute contraindication to spinal anaesthesia.