• Jared A Crasto, Richard A Wawrose, and William F Donaldson.
• Division of Spinal Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 3741 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1010, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
• Eur Spine J. 2020 Dec 1; 29 (Suppl 2): 183-187.

PurposeRemoval of hardware procedures following posterior spinal fusion is most commonly performed for hardware irritation without overt infection. It is imperative that surgeons realize that serious complications may arise from this procedure. The purpose of this report is to report a case of a pneumothorax that developed in a thoracolumbar removal of hardware case that resulted in a patient death.MethodsRetrospective review of a patient's medical record and imaging.ResultsA 74-year-old patient with a history of T4-10 anterior discectomy and fusion with rib autograft and T4-L2 posterior fusion underwent a removal of hardware procedure for delayed surgical site infection. During the procedure, the tip of the bolt cutter jaw broke and entered the pulmonary cavity leading to a pneumothorax. The patient developed pneumonia 1 month postoperatively and passed away.ConclusionsThis case report highlights one of the rare but potential complications of spinal removal of hardware surgery. It is essential that surgeons are aware of the possibility of pulmonary complications during thoracolumbar removal of hardware cases so that they may fully counsel their patients on the potential risks.

21 keywords...

hide…