Postoperative lower limb paralysis due to retractors.

We report a case of femoral neuropathy caused by retractors used during operation. The patient (a 74-year-old woman) was scheduled for right hemicolectomy for cecum cancer, and anesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide and sevoflurane in oxygen plus extradural anesthesia. After operation, the patient complained of hypesthesia in the anterolateral and medial area governed by the femoral nerve. Magnetic resonance imaging findings, were normal and the straight leg raising test was negative. After 2 months, the patient had completely recovered from the neurological symptoms. These manifestations were indicative of femoral neuropathy resulting from the pressure of large-bladed self-retraining retractors. It is important to include femoral neuropathy in the differential diagnosis of postoperative paralysis of the lower limb.