Introduction:

Horner’s syndrome; consists of the classic triad of blepharoptosis, miosis and ipsilateral facial anhidrosis, associated with apparent enophthalmos; specifically in patients undergoing cervical discoidectomy and fusion, the incidence of Horner’s syndrome is extraordinary with reports indicating an incidence of 0.1 to 0.06%.

Clinical case:

A 41 years old female, who underwent discoidectomy C3-C4 with fixation by means of a plate and four screws, with right anterolateral approach of the neck, in the immediate postoperative period she presented a Horner syndrome.

Conclusions:

The solid knowledge of the regional anatomy of the cervical sympathetic trunk is fundamental to limit the iatrogenic syndrome of Horner, so a trajectory in the midline should be sought and a subperiosteal dissection should be performed to facilitate the placement of the retractor under the longus colli muscle of the neck, since any retraction or lateral dissection of said muscle can cause sympathetic injury.