Fatal brain lesion following spinal anaesthesia. Report of a case

Leakage of cerebrospinal fluid following dural puncture and subsequent downward sagging of the brain have been suggested as a cause of the rare subdural haematomas occurring after spinal or attempted epidural anaesthesia which have been reported in the literature. We report a case where this mechanism probably produced a fatal brain lesion, due to the herniation of the uncus against the tentorium cerebelli 15 days after spinal anaesthesia. The patients complained of severe headache and nausea after the procedure. The reported case shows that postdural-puncture headache may be a sign of more serious sequelae and should be treated by the means available.