A study of vascular changes during surgery of paraplegic patients

Abstract

Ninety-seven patients with 257 surgical procedures were evaluated in regard to their blood pressure responses during various types of anaesthesia. It was found that blood pressure changes during anaesthesia depended upon (a) the level of the lesion and (b) on the magnitude and site of the procedure. When the level was above the splanchnic outflow, the blood pressure rise, caused by autonomic dysreflexia, was frequently observed. Renal operations, cervical laminectomies and spinothalamic tractotomies, and operations on the bladder and perineum on patients with high lesions, or with previous spinothalamic tractomies tend to raise the blood pressure. In order to counteract these blood pressure rises, deepening the plane of anaesthesia was found preferable to the abrupt effect of ganglioplegic agents (hexamethonium chloride) because of better control. © 1970 International Spinal Cord Society. All right Reserved.