First report of major vascular injury due to lateral transpsoas approach leading to fatality

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) has gained popularity among spine surgeons for treating multiple conditions of the lumbar spine. In contrast to the anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) approach, the minimally invasive XLIF approach affords wide access to the lumbar disc space without an access surgeon and causes minimal tissue disruption. The XLIF approach offers many advantages over other lumbar spine approaches, with a reportedly low complication profile. The authors describe the first fatality reported in the literature following an XLIF approach. They describe the case of a 50-year-old woman who suffered a fatal intraoperative injury to the great vessels during a lateral transpsoas approach to the L4-5 disc space.

Medical Subject Headings

Fatal Outcome; Female; Humans; Iatrogenic Disease; Iliac Vein (injuries); Middle Aged; Orthopedic Procedures (adverse effects, methods); Psoas Muscles (surgery); Spinal Fusion (adverse effects, methods); Vascular System Injuries (etiology); Vena Cava, Inferior (injuries)

Publication Date

11-1-2014

Publication Title

Journal of neurosurgery. Spine

E-ISSN

1547-5646

Volume

21

Issue

5

First Page

794

Last Page

8

PubMed ID

25192374

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3171/2014.7.SPINE131146

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