Spinal epidural hematoma following epidural catheter removal in a paraplegic patient
Naveen Eipe1, Carlos E Restrepo-Garces, Richard I Aviv
1Department of Anesthesiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Abstract:
Spinal epidural hematoma is a rare and devastating complication of epidural catheter removal in an anticoagulated patient. The diagnosis could be quite challenging, especially in patients with preexisting neurological deficits. A 35-year-old patient with remote spinal cord injury and T4 level paraplegia developed a spinal epidural hematoma on the 7th postoperative day. The hematoma developed after epidural catheter removal with concurrent administration of unfractionated heparin.
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