Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in an untreated hypertensive patient after spinal surgery under general anesthesia-A case report-

Abstract

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is an unfamiliar term to anesthesiologists, and this is characterized by neurologic symptoms that include mental change, headache, seizure and visual disturbance and also abnormal neuroimaging finding. A 71-year-old female patient was operated on for posterior decompression and total laminectomy under general anesthesia for the spinal stenosis. After the operation, she developed generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a stuporous mentality in the recovery room. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed swelling and increased signal intensity at the deep gray nuclei, cerebral cortex and cerebellum. After one week, she returned to an alert mentality and then she was diagnosed with PRES. She was discharged without any neurologic defcit on postoperative day 20. This report describes our experience with PRES after spinal surgery was performed under general anesthesia on a suspected untreated hypertensive patient. © the Korean Society of Anesthesiologists, 2011.