title: Perioperative complications of threaded cylindrical lumbar interbody fusion devices: anterior versus posterior approach.
abstract: Few data are available to evaluate approach-related differences in perioperative complications with lumbar interbody fusion devices. Complications occurring in the intraoperative and immediate postoperative period were identified and categorized for 31 consecutive posterior lumbar interbody fusions (PLIFs) and 88 consecutive anterior lumbar interbody fusions (ALIFs). In this study, all lumbar interbody fusions were conducted with threaded cylindrical devices as stand-alone internal fixation devices. Multivariate analysis was used to account for potential covariates and identify factors associated with an increased complication risk. Twenty-two percent of the patients had a perioperative complication. The relative risk of having a perioperative complication was 4.75 times higher for the PLIF group. All intraoperative complications occurred in the PLIF group. The relative risk of having a major postoperative complication was 6.8 times higher in the PLIF group than the ALIF group. Anterior approached patients tended to have visceral (ileus, 6%) and vascular (deep venous thrombosis, 2%) complications. In the posterior group, complications were neurologic and dura related (pseudomeningocele, 16%; epidural hematoma, 3%) and occurred most frequently in patients that had had previous posterior lumbar surgery (31% with major complication).
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 10833 LeConte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6902, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Scaduto
authors.forename: Seth C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Gamradt
authors.forename: Warren D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Rick B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Delamarter
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001863:Bone Screws / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D045823:Ileus / Q000453:epidemiology; D016268:Internal Fixators / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology