Rapid spontaneous recovery after development of a spinal epidural hematoma: a case report.
Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is a very rare clinical emergency. A permanent neurological deficit or even death may result if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. Many cases can be diagnosed upon detailed neurological examination and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Usually, surgery is required, but rarely, the condition may improve spontaneously. A 46-year-old male patient was admitted to our emergency department because of rapidly evolving severe paraplegia following development of sudden-onset neck pain. Spinal MR imaging detected an epidural hematoma compressing the spinal cord at the C5–T1 level. Clinical and radiological follow-up showed that the patient recovered spontaneously in 48 hours without any need for surgical treatment.
Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkey. Electronic address: rbuyukkaya@gmail.com.
Ramazan
R
Buyukkaya
Department of Radiology Uludag University, School of Medicine Bursa, Görükle 16285, Turkey.
Omer
O
Aydın
Department of Radiology Uludag University, School of Medicine Bursa, Görükle 16285, Turkey.
Bahattin
B
Hakyemez
Department of Neurosurgery Uludag University, School of Medicine Bursa, Görükle 16285, Turkey.
Dogan
D
Seref
D046748:Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous