Question
4 days ago my best friend suffered a near-complete c6/c7 dislocation in a motorcycle injury.  He had a first surgery on the day of the accident, and a second surgery to stabalize, fuse, and bone graft was scheduled for today. He has, however, developed a fever of 103.8 and surgery is delayed 48 hrs.

Is this high of fever common?  I am in another state and desperate for any answers.

Answer
Dear Sean,  

Six days after my injury (C4-C5) I developed multiple stress ulcers and had surgery to fix that situation, a few days later I had a temperature of 106. I was put in ice from head to toe until my fever broke. So I know it can happen, but why your friend has a temperature of 103.8 I don't know. He may have some type of infection from the surgery, that is what happened to me. But a high temperature isn't necessarily a common occurrence with a spinal cord injury.

Although I did find the following article; which does indicate there can be a relationship to spinal cord injuries and fevers. But quite honestly it isn't something I've heard from quadriplegics I've met.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2718819/

I hope this helps and I will keep good thoughts for your friend.
Sincerely,
       Ken