title: Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma in a 15-month-old boy presenting with a wry neck: a case report.
abstract: A 15-month-old boy presented with a 2-day history of a wry neck (bent to the left side) with no definite trauma. He had bilateral upper limb weakness and was afebrile, conscious, and stable. There was no spontaneous movement in both upper limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical and thoracic spine demonstrated an extensive spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma from C3 to T8. 23 hours after admission, the patient underwent an emergency right-sided C3 to T8 hemi-laminectomy and haematoma evacuation. The patent's strength gradually recovered and he attained full power 3 weeks after operation. Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma is a rare disease in children. A high index of suspicion is essential for its effective management as the interval to operation is the most important prognostic factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong. augustfok@hotmail.com
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Fok
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cheung
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D046748:Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007796:Laminectomy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014103:Torticollis / Q000209:etiology*