Cauda Equina Syndrome
Cauda equine syndrome arises secondary to compression of or injury to the cauda equine, a group of nerves in the lumbosacral spine that provide motor and sensory function to most of the lower extremities, pelvic floor musculature, and sphincters. Symptoms can include loss of bowel and bladder control, lower extremity motor and sensory deficits, and pain. Compressive etiologies such as a midline herniated disc are the most common cause of cauda equine syndrome. Any patient with the described constellation of symptoms should undergo magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine. In the setting of acute loss of motor, sensory, or autonomic function and a disc herniation or other compressive lesion seen on a lumbar spine MRI, emergency decompression via laminectomy should be undertaken. Complications range from structural damage intraoperatively to more general postsurgical complications. Operating on cauda equine patients at the earliest opportunity seems the most appropriate clinical practice.