Fluoroscopy guided transforaminal epidural anesthesia in ankylosing spondylitis

A 48-year-old male patient with a long-standing history of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) presented for ureteroscopic stone removal. On preoperative assessment, tracheal intubation was likely to be difficult due to decreased cervical spine mobility. Traditional neuraxial block was impossible due to the fusion of vertebral bodies. AS patients present the most serious array of intubation, which is secondary to decrease in cervical spine mobility and possible temporomandibular joint disease. Management of a case of AS can be very challenging when the airway and the central neuraxial blockade, both are difficult. Fluoroscopic assisted central neuraxial blockade may lead to predictable success in AS. We present a case report with severe AS where conventional techniques failed and C-arm assisted helped in successful epidural anesthesia for ureteroscopic stone removal.