[Paraplegia and the sitting position].

The sitting position in neurosurgery may lead to complications such as air embolism and neurological complications. We report the case of a 16-year-old male who suffered from post-operation paraplegia after surgery for Arnold Chiari disease. This patient had several risk factors and serious morphological spinal abnormalities.

[BIS monitoring may allow the detection of severe cerebral ischemia].

Purpose: To show that the bispectral index (BIS) is not only a monitor of the depth of anesthesia but that acute decreases of the index may be related to severe cerebral ischemia.

Clinical Features: Several clinical observations suggest that an unexplained fall of the BIS may be the result of cerebral ischemia. Somatosensory evoked potentials decreased in parallel to the decrease in BIS during carotid clamping in a 58-yr-old patient undergoing carotid endarterectomy.