Hématome péridural rachidien spontané au cours de la grossesse

Spontaneous spinal epidural haematomas are quite rare. We report here the case of a 26-year-old woman, without previous history of relevant medical disorder, who presented with acute paraplegia at 35 weeks of gestation, lasting for 30 h. MRI performed in emergency revealed a T4 epidural haematoma. The management consisted in an emergency caesarean section under general anaesthesia, followed immediately by a T4 laminectomy allowing the spinal cord decompression 36 h after the first symptoms. Two weeks after surgery, her neurological condition remained unchanged. Spontaneous spinal epidural haematomas require a prompt diagnosis because neurologic prognosis essentially depends on the interval of time between onset of symptoms and surgical decompression. Obstetrical management especially depends on the term of pregnancy.