Thoracic epidural anesthesia and epidural hematoma.

This report involves a 74-year-old-male who developed a thoracic epidural hematoma with paraparesis on the second postoperative day in conjunction with thoracic epidural anesthesia established before surgery for acute abdominal aortic dissection. The finding indicates that laminectomy can be performed successfully as late as three days after diagnosis of the hematoma, with a complete restitution of neurological function. High-dose steroid treatment may have been a contributing factor for the positive outcome.