Becks syndrome

What is it about?

Anterior spinal artery syndrome is caused by occlusion of the anterior spinal artery, which supplies the anterior two thirds of the spinal cord. We report a 14 year old boy, who presented with progressive limb weakness, and urinary retention.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

ASAS is more of a clinical diagnosis and the crux lies in a complete neurological examination. With typical features of dissociated anesthesia, ASAS is easy to diagnose even though it requires knowledge of existence of such an entity and then a careful physical examination focusing on posterior column is needed. In any case of spinal shock with loss of pain sensation and, where the etiology is not obvious like trauma or fracture, always check the posterior column sensations which if preserved may give you a rare diagnosis of ASAS or Beck’s syndrome.