Damage to the spinal cord as a result of injury or infection may result in partial or complete paralysis. This can have a devastating effect on the day-to-day life of the person affected.
Although low back pain is common and usually goes away without surgery, cauda equine syndrome, a rare disorder affecting the bundle of nerve roots (cauda equina) at the lower (lumbar) end of the spinal cord, is a surgical emergency.
A spinal cord abscess is caused by an infection inside the spine. An abscess of the spinal cord itself is very rare. A spinal abscess usually occurs as an epidural abscess.
It was alleged that there was a significant delay of three days in the diagnosis of the abscess and as a result a delay in surgery. With surgery at an earlier time, it was alleged she would probably have made a full recovery of bowel, bladder and limb function.
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