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Summary It has been proposed that idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis may be a consequence of ‘healed’ retroperitoneal lesions of systemic Weber-Christian disease. However ureteric obstruction which is the hallmark of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis, has not been described in systemic Weber-Christian disease. We report a patient with systemic Weber-Christian disease who, during a relapse, developed bilateral ureteric obstruction which resolved when the Weber-Christian disease remitted. The radiological appearances were consistent with a diagnosis of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis, but the clinical course was slightly atypical in that the ureteric obstruction resolved completely and rapidly. Ureteric obstruction can complicate systemic Weber-Christian disease and this observation gives support to the hypothesis that idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis is related to systemic Weber-Christian disease.

Summary Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma is of unknown aetiology, but it has been associated with hypertension. Treatment is surgical decompression but three cases of spontaneous recovery have been reported. We report the fourth such recovery in a 68 year old hypertensive woman.