Did something requiring this procedure happen to you or a friend?

I had Lumber Puncture when I was a kid .... they were taking samples from my spine cos I had meningitus ..... I didn't know it may cause parapligia tho... although - for a sergeon to get it wrong, could cause nerve damage I suppose ...... seeing as it is the central nervous system they are poking about with !!
Why do you ask ?

hi my son started having seizures -infantile spasms- and the neurologists requested a lumbar puncture but between two and four weeks after, he had no movement in his legs, the doctors say that it was nothing to do with the lp but it seems too much like a coincidence considering they took three attempts.

my story starts with my son who started off with infantile spasms, soon after this was diagnosed he was sent for a lumbar puncture. shortly after this procedure his legs stopped working/went floppy. after us constantly telling the doctors we saw about his legs they fianally took him for an mri scan which revealed a spinal cord tumour. they said this was the cause for his legs not working. after a biopsy they returned to us to say that they had not seen a tumour like this before and that there was nothing they could do as the tumour would spread all the way up the spine. but after the biopsy results came back the surgeon stated that the tumour looked more like skin than any tumorous tissue they had ever seen.also while he was in hospital he got a water infection and the urine samples came back and the doctor said that the infection causing his water infection was normally found as a skin infection, not a water infection.

From a brief scan across the internet, I've seen no reference to a lumbar puncture procedure CAUSING paraplegia ...but I have seen reference to an LP as a diagnostic tool for understanding paraplegia. I'm so sorry that your family is experiencing this difficult time and condition, and would be glad to offer support, though.

hi there,

in regards to your son's post LP tumour, i was reading an article re: complications after a lumbar puncture. In the "Nerve Root Irritation, Low Back Pain, and Insertion of the Stylet" section, the article quotes : "The stylet should always be used on insertion through the skin and subcutaneous tissue to prevent the rare complication of implanting a plug of skin that can grow into an intraspinal epidermoid tumor." The article is posted online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/420288

All the best to you and your family