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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A Soft Cervical Collar May Help Prevent Neck Sprain or Nerve Injury from Occurring After Surgery in the Lateral Decubitus Position

Department of Anesthesia; Kochi Takasu Hospital; Kochi, Japan; jun-aono{at}pd6.so-net.ne.jp (Aono) Department of Anesthesia; University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics; Iowa City, Iowa (Ueda) Department of Anesthesia; Izumino Hospital (Mamiya) Head of Urology; Kochi Takasu Hospital; Kochi, Japan (Terao)

To the Editor:

Kamel et al. (1) reported a 7.5% incidence of altered somatosensory-evoked potentials in the arms of patients in the lateral decubitus position for spinal surgery. Even if the patient does not sustain nerve injury, it has been our experience that many patients complain of neck and shoulder pain or stiffness after surgery in the lateral decubitus position. We would like to describe a method to reduce neck pain and stiffness.

After induction of anesthesia and intubation of the trachea, we wrap a soft foam cervical collar around the patient’s neck when the patient is in the supine position (Fig. 1). When the patient is turned to the lateral decubitus position, the collar helps maintain the head and cervical spine in a neutral position (Fig. 2).

View larger version (138K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. A foam collar is placed when the patient is in the supine position.

View larger version (145K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. The foam collar helps maintain proper neck positioning in the lateral decubitus position.

REFERENCE

1. Kamel, IR, Drum ET, Koch SA, et al. The use of somatosensory evoked potentials to determine the relationship between patient positioning and impending upper extremity nerve injury during spine surgery: a retrospective analysis. Anesth Analg 2006 102:1538–42.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Aono, J. Articles by Terao, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Aono, J. Articles by Terao, N.