Successfull Management of a Life Threatening Cerebellar Haemorrhage Following Spine Surgery - A Case Report -

Abstract

Cerebellar haemorrhages are rare life-threatening complications following spine surgery that present challenges for their diagnostic and their therapeutic management. Their patho-physiology remains unclear.We report a case of a life-threatening cerebellar haemorrhage secondary to an occult dural tear following a planned L5-S1 laminectomy. The patient was treated with emergent external ventriculostomy following by a posterior fossa decompressive craniectomy. Cerebellar haemorrhages have to be suspected systematically when unexpected neurological signs occur after spine surgery since their rapid management lead to favourable outcomes. The present imaging findings allow us proposing that cerebellar haemorrhages result primarily from superior cerebellar venous stretching and tearing, and that cerebellar infarction and swelling occur secondarily.