Triplegia
Triplegia is a medical condition characterized by the paralysis of three limbs . A person with triplegia can be referred to as triplegic. While there is no typical pattern of involvement, it is usually associated with paralysis of both legs and one arm — but can also involve both arms and one leg. Triplegia can sometimes be considered a combination of hemiplegia overlaying diplegia, or as quadriplegia with less involvement in one extremity.
The condition is commonly associated with cerebral palsy, although conditions such as stroke can also lead to it. Triplegia has also been found to be due to an increase in intracranial pressure associated with hydrocephalus resulting from traumatic brain injury.
A similar condition is triparesis, in which the patient suffers from paresis in three limbs, meaning that the limbs are very weak, but not completely paralyzed.
In a case reported only due to its rarity, triplegia was reported following a tonsillectomy. An eight-year-old male patient was sent to Willard Parker Hospital on August 12, 1929 and had been diagnosed with poliomyelitis. After an unrelated, and routine, tonsillectomy there was complete flaccid paralysis and loss of feeling in both the legs, right arm, and muscles in the trunk.
