title: Emergency diagnosis with spiral CT angiography in case of suspected ventral perforation following lumbar disc surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ventral perforation and vascular lesions are rare but life-threatening complications in lumbar disc surgery. In some cases, however, it remains unclear from the clinical situation whether a laparotomy is necessary to save the patient. The goal of this study is to demonstrate the value of spiral CT (computed tomography) angiography for emergency vascular diagnosis in two cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spiral CT angiography with an intravenous bolus contrast medium injection and reconstruction with images in sagittal, coronal, and oblique planes was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spiral CT angiography confirms or excludes a vascular lesion, as demonstrated in two case reports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In unclear cases when ventral perforation in lumbar disc surgery is suspected, the need for emergency laparotomy can be confirmed quickly by noninvasive spiral CT angiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum Villingen-Schwenningen, Schwenningen, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Philipp
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oeckler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000601:surgery*; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D012421:Rupture / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery