Thoracic extradural haematoma after epidural anaesthesia.
The administration of analgesics to the thoracic spine is established practice in the operating room, minimizing the need for systemic anaesthetic administration during thoracic surgery. Complications arising from thoracic epidural anaesthesia are uncommon but potentially disastrous. Here, we report the case of a 43-year-old woman who developed a thoracic epidural haematoma with paraplegia a few hours after the removal of an epidural catheter. The patient underwent emergency thoracic laminectomy and clot evacuation. After a 4 months period, there was almost complete neurological recovery. Epidural haematoma is a rare complication that must be heeded and urgently treated in case of clinical deterioration after the epidural analgesia.
Perrini
Paolo
P
Neurosurgical Department, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56100, Pisa, Italy. p.perrini@ao-pisa.toscana.it
Pieri
Francesco
F
Montemurro
Nicola
N
Tiezzi
Giacomo
G
Parenti
Giuliano Francesco
GF
D000328:Adult; D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006406:Hematoma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D016896:Treatment Outcome