Acute epidural haematoma complicating myelography in a normotensive patient with normal blood coagulability

Acute epidural haematomas are usually idiopathic, but they may occur following spinal trauma (Coin et al, 1979), epidural anaesthesia (Helperin et al, 1971) or in association with spinal tumours (Harris et al, 1978) or vascular malformations (Muller et al, 1982). We report the computed myelographic, computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in an unusual case complicating lumbar myelography, requiring surgical decompression, which was not evident on the myelogram.