Sacral rhizotomy: a salvage procedure in a patient with autonomic dysreflexia.

STUDY

DESIGN

Case report.

OBJECTIVES

To show the feasibility of sacral deafferentation as a salvage procedure to resolve life-threatening autonomic dysreflexia.

SETTING

Paraplegic center in Switzerland.

METHOD AND

RESULTS

In a patient presenting with acute autonomic dysreflexia leading to cardiac arrest, sacral deafferentation could prevent further episodes of autonomic dysreflexia.

CONCLUSION

In patients with spinal cord injury, autonomic dysreflexia can be triggered by the bladder even without detrusor overactivity. In these cases, sacral deafferentation may be the only salvage procedure to prevent further serious health problems. Thus, this procedure augments the armamentarium of urologists dealing with patients suffering from spinal cord lesions.