Successful epidural blood patch in a patient with headache for 6 months after lumbar root decompression

Prolonged headache following dural puncture is an uncommon problem that may occur after a spinal tap, often as a complication of epidural anaesthesia. This problem has also been described after long-term epidural or spinal anaesthesia, myelography or spinal surgery. A case of prolonged postdural puncture headache following lumbar nerve root decompression is described in a healthy young man. No other cause could be found either clinically or with the aid of scanning by computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging techniques at the spinal level involved. The symptoms were successfully treated with an epidural blood patch performed seven months following the original surgical operation.