Q: Beside CSF drainage, what other modality of treatment has shown some beneficial effect in acute postoperative paraplegia complicating with emergency graft replacement of the ascending aorta for the Type A Dissection?

Answer: Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO)

Usual dose of oxygen to patient is to breath 100% oxygen for 90 minutes at a pressure of 2.4 atmospheres absolute.

References:

1. . Puttaswamy V, Bennett M, Frawley JE. Hyperbaric oxygenation treatment of acute paraplegia after resection of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. J Vasc Surg 1999; 30: 1158–61.

2. Gharagozloo F, Larson L, Dausmann MJ, Neville RF, Gomes MN. Spinal cord protection during surgical procedures on the descending thoracic and thoracoabdominal aorta. Chest 1996; 109: 799–809.

3. Fleck T, Hutschala D, Weissl M, Wolner E, Grabenwoger M, Austria V. Cerebrospinal fluid drainage as a useful treatment option to relieve paraplegia after stent-graft implantation for acute aortic dissection type B. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002; 123: 1003–5.

4. Narayana PA, Kudrle WA, Liu SJ, Charnov JH, Butler BD, Harris JH Jr. Magnetic resonance imaging of hyperbaric oxygen treatment rats with spinal cord injury: preliminary studies. Magn Reson Imaging 1991; 9:423-8.