Occult epidural chloroma complicated by acute paraplegia following lumbar puncture

Abstract

Acute paraplegia complicating lumbar puncture in a leukemic patient with an unsuspected epidural chloroma is described, including the postmortem findings. Lumbar puncture can precipitate irreversible injury to the spinal cord in the patient with an occult lesion causing subarachnoid block. This account, in addition to documenting this phenomenon, suggests a potential advantage to magnetic resonance imaging over myelography.