Abstract
Deep hypothermia helps protect the spinal cord, but is invasive. Here, we present
a method to avoid reperfusion injury by selectively circulating cold blood under high
pressure to the intercostal artery during reperfusion after intercostal artery reconstruction.
Of the 23 patients who underwent thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm open repair, one
died. The motor evoked potential disappeared during aortic clamping in nine patients.
Six patients recovered completely from aortic clamping release, two showed recovery
>50% and one achieved full recovery 3 months later. Permanent motor impairment did
not occur. This method could prevent reperfusion injury and paraplegia following thoracoabdominal
aortic aneurysm surgery.
Keywords
thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm - cool-shot technique - spinal cord protection -
reperfusion injury
