BMC’s Yawkey building doors are now closed as an entrance as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our campus and provide you with the best clinical care.

All patients and visitors on our main campus must enter our hospital via Shapiro, Menino, or Moakley buildings, where they will be greeted by team members at a new centralized check-in desk before continuing to the hospital. We are excited to welcome you and appreciate your patience as we improve our facilities.

Spinal Fluid Leaks


Spinal fluid, also called cerebrospinal fluid, surrounds your brain and spinal cord and helps protect them from getting injured. But if you get a tear in the outermost layer surrounding the brain and spinal cord, called the dura mater, it can lead to a spinal fluid leak or cerebrospinal fluid leak (CFS). 

A spinal CFS leak can happen anywhere in the spinal column and usually causes a headache. A cranial CFS leak happens in the skull and usually causes clear fluid to leak from your nose or ear.

In some cases, the hole will close with rest and time. In other cases, you may need surgery to repair the hole and stop the leak.

A hole in the dura mater may be caused by an injury to the head or spine, certain surgeries, inner ear malformations, bone spurs, and more.

Departments and Programs Who Treat This Condition

department

Neurosurgery

We provide comprehensive surgical treatment of the spine for trauma, degenerative conditions, congenital problems, and more. Our surgeons are experts in less invasive surgical tec…
Neurosurgery
department

Skull Base Surgery

Our neurosurgeons treat both cancerous and benign skull base tumors, offering the latest surgeries, as well as non-surgical options, to help you achieve your best quality of life.
Skull Base Surgery