A 40-year-old male patient suffered from end-stage heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy and received orthotopic cardiac transplantation in June 2005. The instantaneous postoperative course was uneventful, but, seven months later, he suffered from paralysis in the lower extremities finally resulting in quadriplegia and was admitted to hospital. After laboratory testings the diagnosis of ...

The case of a 19 year old man struck by lightning is described. He sustained quadriplegia for several months and fully recovered. It is suggested that his weakness was due to extensive peripheral nerve damage. In addition, he displayed many well recognised medical complications of lightning injury including acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, respiratory distress syndrome, autonomic dysfunctio...

We describe a very unusual contact charcoal burn associated with acute central cord syndrome. The patient is a known case of cervical degenerative disc disease who accidentally slipped and fell down in hot charcoal with sudden neck hyperextension. This lead to acute central cord syndrome, quadriplegia, loss of sensation, and bilateral lower limb 4 degree burn requiring amputation. The case is r...

1 During my third year clinical rotations, I met Melissa 1 , a 12 year old who suffered a haemorrhagic stroke caused by an undetected brain tumour, which left her suffering with locked-in syndrome (LIS). LIS is a rare condition caused by brainstem damage resulting in sudden quadriplegia (sometimes sparing ocular muscles), with preserved consciousness and cognition. Sufferers are left severely l...

gas samples were obtained and neither hypercarbia nor hypoxia occurred at both sides of single-lung ventilation. Video-assisted thoracic surgery was successfully performed and the surgeon satisfaction was very good. The patient was extubated without complications and transferred to the postoperative anaesthesia care. No discomforts like sore throat or minor injuries at the trachea were detected...