In this issue of the British Journal of Anaesthesia, Abouleish and colleagues 1 report a case in which accidental injection of ropivacaine into an extradural vein resulted in central nervous system toxicity and a seizure. The extradural catheter was inserted while the patient was in labour, but she delivered before it was used. She was then to undergo tubal ligation. In spite of a negative aspi...

A follow up study is reported of 100 consecutive unconscious patients admitted to an intensive care coma facility with a history of 30 days or more of unconsciousness of nontraumatic cause. Twenty recovered consciousness, all within 5 months of injury. 31 of the remaining patients died within 6 months following injury, while 49 continued unconscious until death. The mean life expectancy of thes...

background: arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid (csf) fluid-filled sacs that are located between the brain and spinal cord. spinal column arachnoid cysts are rare and mostly asymptomatic, being mostly located in intradural regions. we reported a patient who presented with neurological deficits and mid-thoracic extradural arachnoid cyst treated with en-bloc resection. case presentation: pati...

Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a rare disorder characterized by the pathological overgrowth of epidural fat and often causes extradural compression which may mimic other spinal disorders. Steroid administration is a well-documented etiology. We report a case of spinal epidural lipomastosis without history of steroid administration. The initial manifestation was bizarre and was misdiagnosed as a...

Multiple cranial nerves palsies following a posterior fossa exploration confined to an extradural compartment is a rare clinical presentation. This case report describes a young man who developed a unilateral abducens and bilateral facial nerve palsies following a posterior fossa exploration confined to an extradural compartment. There are different theories to explain this presentation, but th...

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) represents tumor-like proliferation of hemopoietic tissue which complicates chronic hemoglobinopathy. Intracranial EMH is an extremely rare occurrence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a precise diagnosis. It is essential to distinguish EMH from other extradural central nervous system tumors, because treatment and prognosis are totally different. Herein...