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Common surgical complications in degenerative spinal surgery
Michael Papadakis, Resident in Orthopedic Surgery, University of Athens, School of Medicine, 10676 Athens, Greece
Lianou Aggeliki, Resident in Radiology, St. Olga Hospital, 10676 Athens, Greece
Elias C Papadopoulos, Spine Service, School of Medicine, University of Athens, 10676 Athens, Greece
Federico P Girardi, Attending, Spine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY 10021, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to conception and design, drafting the article and have approved the version to be published.
Correspondence to: Elias C Papadopoulos, MD, Spine Service, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Ypsilantou 18 Str, 10676 Athens, Greece. hpapado@yahoo.com
Telephone: +30-210-7218719 Fax: +30-210-7218719
Received: May 8, 2012
Revised: November 26, 2012
Accepted: December 23, 2012
Published online: April 18, 2013
Revised: November 26, 2012
Accepted: December 23, 2012
Published online: April 18, 2013
Abstract
The rapid growth of spine degenerative surgery has led to unrelenting efforts to define and prevent possible complications, the incidence of which is probably higher than that reported and varies according to the region of the spine involved (cervical and thoracolumbar) and the severity of the surgery. Several issues are becoming progressively clearer, such as complication rates in primary versus revision spinal surgery, complications in the elderly, the contribution of minimally invasive surgery to the reduction of complication rate. In this paper the most common surgical complications in degenerative spinal surgery are outlined and discussed.
Keywords: Spine surgery; Complication; Failed back surgery; Instability; Disc herniation