Remote medulla ablongata ventral acute subarachnoid hemorrhage following cervical spinal surgery: A case report

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Remote medulla ablongata ventral acute subarachnoid hemorrhage following cervical spinal surgery: A case report Via leak of cerebrospinal fluid Int J Surg Case Rep. 2021 Feb 22;80:105675. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.105675. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The incidence of remote intracranial hemorrhage (RICH) in patients during spinal surgery is rare and the detailed mechanism remains unclear. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 55-year-old man had undergone cervical discectomy and fusion at C5-6 and C6-7 due to herniated disc and secondary spinal canal stenosis. He had severe headache 20 h postoperatively and his drain output increased from 100 to 350 mL in the second 10 h after surgery. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed and he was diagnosed with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage in the ventral medulla oblongata. The drainage tube was quickly removed. Infusion of hypertonic saline was used to reduce intracranial pressure and nimodipine prevented vasospasm around the brainstem. The patient made a gradual, satisfactory recovery with conserv ative treatment. DISCUSSION: The most likely pathomechanism leading to RICH is venous bleeding due to rapid leak of a large amount of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) after spinal surgery. If the patient has a headache or neurological complaints after spinal surgery, immediate imaging is recommended to confirm the diagnosis. Treatment depends on the amount and location of intracranial hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: RICH is a serious but rare complication of spinal surgery and cerebellar hemorrhage is the most common. The most important pathomechanism leading to RICH after spinal surgery is venous bleeding due to rapid leak of a large amount of CSF. Timely CT is necessary to exclude RICH. Treatment of RICH depends on the size of the intracranial hematoma and the patient's symptoms. PMID:33639502 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.105675 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.