Clinical neurology and neurosurgery
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Dec 2015
ReviewIatrogenic neurologic deficit after lumbar spine surgery: A review.
Iatrogenic neurologic deficits after lumbar spine surgery are rare complications, but important to recognize and manage. Complications such as radiculopathy, spinal cord compression, motor deficits (i.e. foot drop with L5 radiculopathy), and new onset radiculitis, while uncommon do occur. Attempts at mitigating these complications with the use of neuromonitoring have been successful. ⋯ Despite the introduction of neuromonitoring, these complications still occur. Interpretation of neurologic injury rates for lumbar surgery is limited by the few prospective and cohort-matched controlled studies. Likewise, most injuries were associated with the placement of instrumentation despite the type of approach.