• Vasilios Panagiotopoulos, Dimitrios Konstantinou, Ekaterini Solomou, Elias Panagiotopoulos, Markos Marangos, and Theodoros Maraziotis.
• Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Patras, Patras, Greece. panagiotopoulos2000@yahoo.com
• Spine. 2004 Jul 15;29(14):E300-3.

Study DesignA case of a multisegmental, cervicothoracolumbar epidural abscess, in an 80-year-old man, successfully decompressed by using a minimally invasive technique, is presented.ObjectiveTo review risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, decompression techniques, and morbidity and mortality regarding spinal epidural abscess.Summary Of Background DataExtended spinal epidural abscess is a rate entity. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a multilevel spinal epidural abscess, completely decompressed by limited laminectomies in combination with the use of a silicon catheter, epidurally.MethodsThe clinical and radiographic features associated with spinal epidural abscess, as well as decompression technique, are presented. The 80-year-old man, with a one week history of urinary tract infection, presented with fever and low back pain, mild weakness in his legs and jaundice. He underwent bilateral limited laminectomies at T2-T3 and a right hemilaminectomy at L1-L2 and the pus was drained, under mild continuous suction, using a 2.7 mm outer and 1.3 mm inner diameter silicon catheter, inserted caudally and cranially into the epidural space, at both the laminectomy sites.ResultsThe patient experienced immediate relief of the low back pain, gradual fever subsidence and full neurological recovery during the next 3 weeks.ConclusionIn cases of suspected acute epidural abscess, especially in elderly debilitating patients: the whole spine should be scanned by MRI to exclude the possibility of multilevel involvement and adequate pus drainage, when indicated, could be performed with the above described minimally invasive technique.

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