Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Navi Mumbai Man's Rare CSF Leak Treated Without Brain Surgery
A 50-year-old man from Taloja had very bad headaches for more than a month.
The pain got worse when he stood up or sat, and felt better when he lay down.
Another hospital told him he needed brain surgery.
He went for a second opinion at Medicover Hospital in Kharghar.
There, doctors found the real problem: a leak of the fluid that cushions the brain and spine.
This condition is called Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension, and it is very rare.
Instead of surgery, doctors used a small procedure called an epidural blood patch, using the man's own blood to plug the leak.
The man's headache got much better within hours and disappeared completely in a few days.
The doctors said paying attention to headaches that hurt more when standing up is important, because they can point to a fluid leak.
The man is now completely free from the headache.
A 50-year-old Taloja resident, Manoj Gupta, was successfully treated for a rare cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak at Medicover Hospital in Kharghar without undergoing brain surgery.
Gupta experienced severe positional headaches that worsened when standing or sitting upright and subsided when lying down, later reaching a pain intensity of 8-9 out of 10.
A previous hospital diagnosed bilateral subdural haematoma and advised surgery, but a second opinion identified the underlying condition as Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension (SIH) caused by the CSF leak.
Doctors Dr Pawan Ojha and Dr Suranjana Basak treated the leak with a minimally invasive epidural blood patch, using the patient's own blood to seal the leak in the cervical spine region.
Within a day of the procedure, Gupta's pain score dropped from 8-9 to 1-2, his headache disappeared completely within days, and follow-up imaging showed the subdural haematoma gradually shrinking.
Doctors emphasized that positional headaches can be a warning sign of a CSF leak and that delayed diagnosis can lead to chronic headaches and recurrent subdural haematoma.
- Who
- Manoj Gupta, a 50-year-old Taloja resident, treated by neurologists Dr Pawan Ojha and Dr Suranjana Basak of Medicover Hospital, Kharghar.
- What
- A rare cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak causing Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension was treated with a minimally invasive epidural blood patch instead of brain surgery.
- When
- Reported on August 12, 2026, after the patient had suffered headaches for over a month.
- Where
- Medicover Hospital, Kharghar, in the Navi Mumbai region of Maharashtra.
- Why
- To treat the underlying CSF leak, which doctors determined was the root cause of the patient's severe positional headaches and secondary bilateral subdural haematoma.
- Patient
- Manoj Gupta, 50 years old, resident of Taloja
- Condition
- Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension (SIH) caused by a CSF leak
- Initial diagnosis
- Bilateral subdural haematoma; brain surgery advised elsewhere
- Treatment
- Minimally invasive epidural blood patch
- Leak location
- Cervical region of the spine
- Pain before / after
- 8-9 out of 10, reduced to 1-2 within a day
- Hospital
- Medicover Hospital, Kharghar
- Lead doctors
- Dr Pawan Ojha and Dr Suranjana Basak