title: Chronic expanding hematoma after spinal surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic expanding hematoma after spinal surgery is extremely rare, with no case previously reported in the literature.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report a rare case of a chronic expanding hematoma of the spine that occurred 24 years after thoracic laminectomy and spinal cord tumor resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 71-year-old man presented with a spinal mass located approximately at the level of the sixth thoracic vertebral body. The patient had undergone thoracic laminectomy with tumor resection 24 years previously. The mass had appeared 5 years after this and had gradually enlarged over 19 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The tumor was resected en bloc. The lamina and spinous processes had been partially eroded by the tumor at the fifth and sixth thoracic vertebrae, but the dura was intact. Histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of chronic expanding hematoma. The hematoma had not recurred at the 1-year follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report herein an extremely rare case of chronic expanding hematoma after spinal surgery. This entity may be considered a late complication after surgery regardless of the number of years that have passed since the index surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan. tsuchie@doc.med.akita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuchie
authors.forename: Naohisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyakoshi
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hongo
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasukawa
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Misawa
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D046748:Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae