European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Incidental durotomy in lumbar spine surgery: incidence and management.
There is increasing awareness of the need to inform patients of common complications that occur during surgical procedures. During lumbar spine surgery, incidental tear of the dural sac and subsequent cerebrospinal fluid leak is possibly the most frequently occurring complication. There is no consensus in the literature about the rate of dural tears in spine surgery. ⋯ The rate was 3.5% for primary discectomy, 8.5% for spinal stenosis surgery and 13.2% for revision discectomy. There was a wide variation in the actual and estimated rates of dural tears among the spine surgeons. The results confirm that prospective data collection by spine surgeons is the most efficient and accurate way to assess complication rates for spinal surgery.