Korean J Spine.  2012 Sep;9(3):297-299. 10.14245/kjs.2012.9.3.297.

Spontaneous Cervical Epidural Hematoma Causing Brown-Sequard Syndrome

• Yoon BH
• Park KS
• Jung SS
• Park MS
• Kim SM
• Chung SY
• Chung JC
• Kim HK

• KMID: 2288501
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14245/kjs.2012.9.3.297

Abstract

Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma (SCEH) is a rare clinical entity and has a varied etiology. Urgent surgical decompression should be done to prevent serious permanent neurologic deficits. We describe a 59-year-old female who presented with Brown-Sequard syndrome due to spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma. Initially, she was misdiagnosed as cerebrovascular accident. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed epidural hematoma to the right of the spinal cord extending from C3 to C6. She later underwent surgical evacuation and had complete restoration of neurologic function. The outcome in SCEH is essentially determined by the time taken from onset of the symptom to operation. Therefore, early and precise diagnosis such as careful history taking and MRI evaluation is mandatory.

Keyword

Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma; Brown-Sequard syndrome; Surgical decompression

MeSH Terms

Brown-Sequard Syndrome
Decompression, Surgical
Female
Hematoma
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Middle Aged
Neurologic Manifestations
Spinal Cord
Stroke