16. Spinal Apoplexy

Pituitary apoplexy after spinal anaesthesia.

We report the case of a previously healthy 51-yr-old male who underwent an uneventful total hip replacement under spinal anaesthesia. His immediate postoperative course was complicated by the development of a severe frontal headache. Initial conservative treatment included oral analgesics and an epidural blood patch. The headache persisted and was followed by progressive vision loss and a right...

Apoplexy

Pineal apoplexy.

A case of haematoma in the pineal region is reported in a patient whose initial symptom was subarachnoid haemorrhage. The encapsulated haematoma and surrounding blood clots were removed surgically. Haemorrhage into a pineal cyst may have been the cause of this particular intracranial mass.

Pituitary apoplexy.

Pituitary apoplexy, a rare clinical syndrome secondary to abrupt hemorrhage or infarction, complicates 2%-12% of pituitary adenomas, especially nonfunctioning tumors. Headache of sudden and severe onset is the main symptom, sometimes associated with visual disturbances or ocular palsy. Signs of meningeal irritation or altered consciousness may complicate the diagnosis. Precipitating factors (in...

A Case Report of "Spinal Cord Apoplexy" Elicited by Metastatic Intramedullary Thyroid Carcinoma

A 31-year-old man presented with acute onset of paraplegia. The patient's history was significant for thyroid carcinoma that had been treated 2 years earlier by thyroidectomy. A magnetic resonance imaging scan showed an enhancing intramedullary lesion at T7-8. Patient underwent surgical treatment and a tumor with hematoma was resected via posterior midline myelotomy. Postoperatively, the patien...