Multiple supra- and infratentorial intraparenchymal hemorrhages presenting with seizure after massive sacral cerebrospinal fluid drainage.

Abstract

Case report and review of the literature. To describe a case of multiple supra- and infratentorial hemorrhages after spinal surgery presenting with seizure. Cerebrospinal fluid overdrainage is a well-documented factor associated with remote cerebellar hemorrhage, but supratentorial hemorrhages after spinal surgery have been reported rarely. A 64-year-old woman underwent a sacral laminectomy for recurrent chordoma. A negative pressure wound drain was left in after surgery and drained 1300 mL in the first 48 hours. On the fourth postoperative day, the patient presented with tonic-clonic seizures. Diagnostic imaging showed multiple supra- and infratentorial intraparenchymal hemorrhages and a massive sacral cerebrospinal fluid leak. The patient underwent emergent surgery for a primary repair of the presumed dural defect. Patients who present with severe positional headache, altered mental status, or tonic-clonic seizures after undergoing intradural spinal procedures involving massive cerebrospinal fluid loss may be suffering from multiple supra- and infratentorial intracranial hemorrhages.