Spontaneous cerebellar haemorrhage following lumbar fusion

Spontaneous cerebellar haemorrhage following spinal surgery is rare, with fewer than 20 patients reported in the literature. We present a 70-year-old woman who underwent a L5-S1 posterior lumbar interbody fusion for spondylolisthesis. Intraoperatively, an incidental durotomy occurred and was repaired uneventfully. A large amount of serosanguinous fluid was noted in the subfascial drain post-operatively. The patient became increasingly drowsy 36 hours later. She was subsequently found to have bilateral cerebellar haemorrhages with associated non-communicating hydrocephalus.