SUBCUTANEOUS CYSTS - ANOTHER CAUSE OF FAILED SPINAL-ANESTHESIA

Spinal anesthesia continues to be one of the major techniques in the a rsenal of the modern anesthesiologist. Inadequate anesthesia may follo w a spinal anesthetic for a variety of reasons. We report a case in wh ich entry of a spinal needle into a subcutaneous cyst mimicked the fre e flow of cerebrospinal fluid seen with dural puncture. This was confi rmed by microscopic examination of the fluid, which was consistent wit h the contents of a subcutaneous cyst. This represents an unusual caus e for failure of spinal anesthesia. Such a possibility should be borne in mind, especially when ''clear fluid'' return occurs through a spin al needle placed at a relatively superficial depth. (C) 1996 by Elsevi er Science Inc.