Sanghita Layek¹ *, Nitish Agarwal ² and Arijit Ghosh ³

¹ MBBS, MD Anesthesiology and Critical Care, DrNB Neuroanesthesiology, Senior
Resident, Department of Neuroanesthesiology, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences,
IPGMER & SSKM Hospital, India
² MBBS, MS General Surgery, MCh Neurosurgery, DrNB Neurosurgery, Senior
Resident, Department of Neurosurgery, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, IPGMER
& SSKM Hospital, India
³ MBBS, MS General Surgery, DNB General Surgery, MCh Neurosurgery, Senior
Resident, Department of Neurosurgery, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, IPGMER
& SSKM Hospital, India

*Corresponding Author: Sanghita Layek, MBBS, MD Anesthesiology and Critical Care, DrNB Neuroanesthesiology, Senior Resident, Department of Neuroanesthesiol- ogy, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, IPGMER & SSKM Hospital, India.

Received: February 18, 2026; Published: March 31, 2026

Abstract

Background: Retrolaminar plane block is a type of paravertebral block which provides effective perioperative analgesia in lumbar spine surgeries. It is a relatively safer regional anesthetic technique and very few complications have been reported in the literature. A case has been reported where there was unilateral motor weakness and hypoesthesia postoperatively which resolved within 28 hours.

Case: In this case report, there was a transient bilateral neurodeficit including motor weakness of the lower limbs, sensory impairment below the umbilicus and impairment of reflexes after a lumbar spine instrumentation surgery, due to administration of retrolaminar block. Imaging was normal. This is a very rare complication yet cannot be ignored. Though this event was distressing for both the clinicians and the patient, it got reversed spontaneously and completely within 7 hours after extubation.

Conclusion: This can be avoided by proper skilled training of the anesthesiologist, use of ultrasound, proper knowledge of the spinal anatomy, appropriate clinical examination, imaging and follow up.

Keywords: Lumbar Spine Surgeries; Retrolaminar Block; Epidural Spread; Paravertebral Spread; Motor Weakness; Sensory Impairment

References

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Citation

Citation: Sanghita Layek., et al. “Transient Neurodeficit Following Retrolaminar Plane Block in Lumbar Spine Fixation Surgery: A Case Report". Acta Scientific Neurology 9.4 (2026): 17-21.

Copyright

Copyright: ©2026 Sanghita Layek., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.