Journal des rapports de cas cliniques

Misdiagnosis of an Early Postoperative Upper Limb Deficit

Abstract

Claude Lentschener, Bertrand Dousset, Paul F White, Gayané Meliksetyan and Charles-Marc Samama

Transient left upper limb deficit was diagnosed on the first postoperative day following a long surgery procedure and was assumed to have been caused by a positioning injury. Three months after the operation, multiple sclerosis was diagnosed. Importantly, this Case Report emphasizes the importance of carefully considering a differential diagnosis of perioperative nerve injury when observed in the early postoperative period. Also, the question arises as to whether the onset of multiple sclerosis was directly related to anesthesia and/or surgery and whether the early postoperative upper limb deficit was the initial sign of malignant sclerosis.