Spinal anesthesia in an extremely low birth weight infant.

A case of spinal anesthesia in an extremely low birth weight male infant (body weight of 930 g at time of surgery) is presented. He was born prematurely at a gestational age of 27 weeks because of a placenta tumor and had to undergo inguinal herniotomy at 34 weeks postconceptional age. He had bronchopulmonary dysplasia and oxygen supply was still required because of frequent deterioration of oxygen saturation. Spinal anesthesia was performed successfully without any complications. Relevant aspects concerning the technique and management of spinal anesthesia in preterm infants are discussed.