Spinal Cord Reperfusion Injury Syndrome: A Rare Post-Surgical Complication after Spinal Cord Decompression that Makes the Surgeon Doubtful about his Surgical Skills

Background: Spinal cord reperfusion injury syndrome (SCRIS) is a very rare pathology with little literature on the subject. The pathophysiology of SCRIS/ WCS is poorly understood to date but the most widely accepted is that the sudden increase in blood flow at the level of the medullary compression area would cause the release of free radicals, causing damage to the axonal membrane. Severe or post-surgical tetraplegia together with an emergency magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in which spinal cord hyperintensity is observed on T2 will make us suspect the diagnosis once the most frequent complications of spinal cord decompression have been ruled out.