During pregnancy, you are eagerly anticipating the arrival of your new baby. With careful attention to diet and exercise, many expectant Moms take great pride and care over their own health and the health of their infant quite seriously.
As part of your prenatal planning and preparation, you may want to become educated in not only the various procedures and options for labor, delivery and birth, but also the associated risks with each of these options.
One such complication, often overlooked by expectant Moms is the risk of developing a complication in response to the use of epidural anesthesia during childbirth. While risks are relatively low, they are still, nonetheless, risks. One risk that occurs at a very low rate is the risk of developing an epidural abscess in the location where the epidural was inserted. Generally a result of a staph infection, women who consider birth with the use of epidural for pain management should be familiar with this complication.
Spinal abscess, attributed to an epidural during labor and delivery, often results from staph infection and can be asymptomatic until the complication is quite progressed. For expectant mothers who have a pre-existing history of diabetes or prior spinal injuries, there is a slightly greater risk for developing a spinal abscess when using an epidural. As a very low risk complication, when not diagnosed promptly, the spinal abscess can result in irreversible neurological damage and even a fatal outcome to the new mother.
Symptoms of a spinal abscess may develop rather quickly, within a few hours after the epidural, or may take several months. Most often, women who are developing a spinal abscess will report feeling fatigued, general malaise and suffer from back pain and fever periodically. With symptoms generally very mild, many new Moms will overlook these complications as simply part of the daily fatigue associated with caring for a new infant.
To diagnose a spinal abscess, a neurologist will need to obtain blood samples for testing and request an MRI study of the spine. In some cases, a CT scan with aspiration may be indicated.
If diagnosed as suffering from a spinal abscess, emergency spinal surgery will be required. In most women, the surgery involves a spinal decompression. However, in women who have been diagnosed with spinal abscess early in their complication, it may be appropriate to take a nonsurgical approach, simply using percutaneous drainage.
As with any childbirth procedure, the key to your health lies in the education in not only the procedure and options but also in the risks and how to identify the complications and when to seek treatment. When considering an epidural as part of your child birth experience, be certain you are familiar with the symptoms, diagnostic tools and treatment of spinal abscess as any delay in treatment may lead to life altering complications. The patients will get No Time to Sit ‘Back’ and Relax After Microdiscectomy Herniated Disc Surgery. So, the adopting of the homemade tips should be done for fast recovery from the surgery.
