Neurological deficit following combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for knee arthroplasty.

A healthy man developed cauda equina syndrome after uneventful combined spinal and epidural anesthesia. No pre-existing neurologic disorder was recorded. There was no pain or paresthesia during needle placement, drug injection or catheter insertion. The sensory levels were improved within a few days following the deficit but little improvement on motor power but not on sphincter tone. Local anesthesia neurotoxicity was thought to be the leading cause of neurologic deficit in our case.