Inadvertent knotting of a thoracic epidural catheter

We report a case of corrosive injury of upper gastrointestinal and respirat ory tracts scheduled for feeding jejunostomy under thoracic epidural anesth esia. An epidural catheter was inserted at the T-8-T-9 intervertebral space and threaded 7 cm beyond the tip of the Tuohy needle in a rostral directio n. Resistance was noticed during attempts to inject the local anesthetic. A s resistance could not be relieved by changing the position of the patient, kinking of the epidural catheter was suspected. Following informing the pa tient of the associated risks, the catheter was retrieved successfully by g entle and steady pulling. A tight double-knot of catheter was found. No neu rological sequelae to the procedure were noticed.