[Neurologic complications following intraarterial chemoinfusion and/or chemoembolization of pelvic malignancies].

Transcatheter arterial chemoinfusion and/or chemoembolization of the internal iliac artery have been used for the treatment of pelvic malignancies. Intraarterial chemoinfusion is expected to deliver a higher concentration of chemotherapeutic agents directly to the neoplasm, reducing the problems of systemic side effects. In 35 cases of pelvic malignancies, 61 procedures of intraarterial chemoinfusion and/or chemoembolization of cisplatin (CDDP) and/or adriamycin (ADR) were performed in combination with or without occlusion of the superior and/or inferior gluteal arteries by the use of steel coils. For chemoinfusion and chemoembolization, the anterior division of the internal iliac artery was selected. In 19 procedures of 14 cases, pain of the lower extremities and the hips developed soon after chemoinfusion and chemoembolization, and gradually followed by paresthesia. Each patient was complicated with numbness, dysesthesia and/or weariness of the lower extremities, thighs and the plantar and dorsal of the foot. These symptoms continued long without recovery. Additionally, the most severe complication such as paralysis and muscular atrophy of the unilateral lower limb occurred in one patient, and at the 14 months follow-up the patient was still suffering from paralysis and gait disturbance. A neurologic examination revealed damage of the sciatic nerve at the level of L5, S1 and S2. It was suggested that the cause of the neurologic complications was attributed to ischemia and/or to deliver a higher concentration of chemotherapeutic agents of the sciatic nerves, and that any previous surgery, radiotherapy or intraarterial chemoinfusion combined with embolization was not related to the symptoms under discussion.