A 3-year-old male developed hemiplegia and aphasia after convulsive status epilepticus. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images demonstrated cytotoxic edema in the white matter 6 days after the seizure episode and subsequently in the gray matter after an additional 7 days. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images demonstrated a subacute evolution of the pathologic process after the status epilepticus. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.