Use of Spinal Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Monitoring Spinal Cord Perfusion During Endovascular Thoracic Aortic Repairs

Abstract

PARAPERESIS REMAINS the most feared and unpredictable complication of open thoracoabdominal aneurysm (TAAA) repair, with an overall incidence of 16% in the Crawford benchmark series.1 Adjuncts such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage and distal perfusion methods have decreased the incidence to 5% to 10%.2 Despite these advances, paraparesis remains a devastating complication, with poor long-term outcome for patients. The use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for measuring cerebral oxygen saturation during cardiac surgery has shown promising results3 and may be of use in adult head-injured and neonatal intensive care unit patients.