The Editor

 Sir,

The pre-existing spinal pathologies may increase the incidence of severe neurological complications, (1, 2). Here, we report a patient without an obvious symptom of the spinal cord or root compression previously who developed paraplegia early following epidural anaesthesia, which was possibly caused by an undiagnosed metastatic spinal tumour.

The Editor,

Sir,

Total spinal anaesthesia, with concomitant symptoms of hypotension and hypoventilation, is a rare but life-threatening complication of epidural block, which is usually abrupt. Here, we reported an unexpected case of delayed and extensive spinal block following epidural anaesthesia.