[Acute cervical epidural hematoma as a complication of anterior cervical C5-C6 diskectomy. A case report].

A 32 year-old woman with cervico-brachial pain and progressive neurological disorders was admitted to the Department and Clinic of Neurosurgery and Neurotraumatology of the K. Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences in Poznań. Neurological examination revealed right hemiparesis with muscular atrophy in the right upper limb, progressing in the past 3 months. MRI demonstrated relatively large herniations of C4-C5 and C5-C6 discs with spinal and nerve compressions. A surgery was carried out. Discectomy of C4-C5 and C5-C6 discs was performed using the anterior vertebral approach. After the removal of C4-C5 and C5-C6 discs and C5 vertebral body a fragment of the iliac bone strut was wedged between C4 and C6 vertebral bodies. The bone graft was fixed to C4 and C6 vertebral bodies with a titanium plate. Within 6 hours after the surgery the patient developed a complete loss of motor functions in the upper and lower limbs. MRI scan of the cervical spine showed a huge anterior epidural hematoma compressing the spinal cord. An emergency re-operation and removal of the hematoma was performed by the anterior approach. A complete neurological recovery followed during the first 24 postoperative hours.