Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma presenting as paraplegia after cardiac surgery

An 86-year-old woman was scheduled to undergo aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft. On postoperative day 3, she developed sudden-onset neck pain followed by weakness in the right arm. Her symptoms worsened with time, and she developed paraplegia. At 60 h after the first complaint, spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) from C2 to C6 with spinal cord compression was diagnosed from a magnetic resonance image of the cervical region. We decided on conservative therapy because operative recovery was impossible. Delayed diagnosis led to grievous results in the present case. When neurological abnormalities follow neck or back pain after open heart surgery, SSEH must be considered in the differential diagnosis. Further, if it is suspected, early cervical computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging and surgery should be considered.