Epidural anesthesia for a lumbar discectomy in a patient with paramyotonia congenita: A case report

Kim, Kang Woo; Park, Jong Cook; Kim, Hyun Jung

Case Report

General Article

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2014;9(4):298-300.
Published online October 31, 2014.

Epidural anesthesia for a lumbar discectomy in a patient with paramyotonia congenita: A case report

Kang Woo Kim, Jong Cook Park, Hyun Jung Kim

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Korea. hjanesthesia@empas.com

Received: 25 June 2014 • Revised: 24 July 2014 • Accepted: 29 July 2014

Abstract

Paramyotonia congenita is a rare hereditary skeletal muscle disease characterized by exercise- or cold-induced myotonia. Anesthesiologists should make any efforts to prevent perioperative myotonic attack and muscle weakness in patients with this kind of disorder. Specifically, the administration of depolarizing muscle relaxants should be avoided and serum potassium level as well as body temperature should be carefully managed. The present report describes our experiences with successful epidural anesthesia in a patient with paramyotonia congenita who underwent a lumbar discectomy.

Key Words: Epidural analgesia, Myotonia, Paramyotonia congenita