Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report

We report a case of a 61-year-old male patient with impaired function of the contralateral brachial plexus after right parathyroidectomy. The symptoms appeared directly after emerging from general anaesthesia and disappeared completely within 24 h after surgery. The follow-up check after 6 weeks was...

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Main Authors: Isabel Besozzi, Andrea Goldmann, Daniel Button, Stefanie Senn, Caveh Madjdpour
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-02-01
Series:SAGE Open Medical Case Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2050313X251321658
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author Isabel Besozzi
Andrea Goldmann
Daniel Button
Stefanie Senn
Caveh Madjdpour
author_facet Isabel Besozzi
Andrea Goldmann
Daniel Button
Stefanie Senn
Caveh Madjdpour
author_sort Isabel Besozzi
collection DOAJ
description We report a case of a 61-year-old male patient with impaired function of the contralateral brachial plexus after right parathyroidectomy. The symptoms appeared directly after emerging from general anaesthesia and disappeared completely within 24 h after surgery. The follow-up check after 6 weeks was unremarkable. The patient suffered from asthma, osteoporotic degenerative changes of the spine and a chronic impingement of the left shoulder. He showed no signs of pain or limitations while reclining his neck during pre-operative airway assessment. Before surgery, a bilateral superficial cervical plexus block was performed by the surgeon using the landmark technique. We discuss the positioning of the neck and cervical spine in preparation for surgery and pre-operative superficial cervical plexus block as possible causes for the impaired function of the brachial plexus observed in this patient. We conclude that the latter was the most likely cause in this patient and recommend considering ultrasound guidance for the performance of superficial cervical plexus block.
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spelling doaj-art-a323e839af904ec9bf0f992e98134bae2025-08-20T02:14:38ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medical Case Reports2050-313X2025-02-011310.1177/2050313X251321658Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case reportIsabel Besozzi0Andrea Goldmann1Daniel Button2Stefanie Senn3Caveh Madjdpour4Senior trainee, Department of Anaesthesiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, SwitzerlandConsultant and Clinical Lead Endocrine and Thyroid Surgery, Department of Visceral Surgery, Kantonsspital Winterthur, SwitzerlandConsultant and Deputy Head of Department, Department of Anaesthesiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, SwitzerlandSenior trainee, Department of Anaesthesiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, SwitzerlandConsultant and Head of Department, Department of Anaesthesiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, SwitzerlandWe report a case of a 61-year-old male patient with impaired function of the contralateral brachial plexus after right parathyroidectomy. The symptoms appeared directly after emerging from general anaesthesia and disappeared completely within 24 h after surgery. The follow-up check after 6 weeks was unremarkable. The patient suffered from asthma, osteoporotic degenerative changes of the spine and a chronic impingement of the left shoulder. He showed no signs of pain or limitations while reclining his neck during pre-operative airway assessment. Before surgery, a bilateral superficial cervical plexus block was performed by the surgeon using the landmark technique. We discuss the positioning of the neck and cervical spine in preparation for surgery and pre-operative superficial cervical plexus block as possible causes for the impaired function of the brachial plexus observed in this patient. We conclude that the latter was the most likely cause in this patient and recommend considering ultrasound guidance for the performance of superficial cervical plexus block.https://doi.org/10.1177/2050313X251321658
spellingShingle Isabel Besozzi
Andrea Goldmann
Daniel Button
Stefanie Senn
Caveh Madjdpour
Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
SAGE Open Medical Case Reports
title Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
title_full Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
title_fullStr Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
title_full_unstemmed Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
title_short Transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark-guided superficial cervical plexus block: A case report
title_sort transient unilateral brachial plexus block following landmark guided superficial cervical plexus block a case report
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2050313X251321658
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AT stefaniesenn transientunilateralbrachialplexusblockfollowinglandmarkguidedsuperficialcervicalplexusblockacasereport
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