[Cerebellar hemorrhage as an early complication of spinal operations. 2. Case reports and review of the literature]

Abstract

Goal: The present paper investigates the etiology and pathogenesis of cerebellar hemorrhage after spine surgery.

Method: This paper reports two patients in those this complication was seen. In respect to the current literature we discuss the etiology and pathogenesis of cerebellar hemorrhage due to spine surgery.

Results: Cerebellar hemorrhages represent a life-threatening situation. There are no reports in the literature about cerebellar hemorrhage as an early complication of intraoperative dura injuries in spine surgery. It seems that a bigger cerebrospinal fluid loss is responsible for the developing of cerebellar hemorrhages. The loss creates a pressure gradient from infratentoriell to site of lesion and also leads to mechanical stress on cerebellar blood vessels such as traction, tearing and kinking.

Conclusions: Every condition after spine surgery with dura injuries and neurological deficits should be carefully evaluated and intracranial hypotension as well as hemorrhage should be ruled out.