title: Silent killer: A scalpel in the aortic wall after spinal surgery.
abstract: Iatrogenic vascular injury during lumbar spinal surgery is rare, but may lead to serious complications in unrecognized cases. Especially, injuries to aorta or its major branches may result in death unless diagnosed and treated immediately. We present a rare case of aortic injury with a scalpel in a 56-year-old male patient undergoing lumbar disk surgery. The vascular injury was successfully treated with open surgery. The post-operative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged in a healthy condition on the 8th day. This case once again reminds us that surgery is always open to complications and that early diagnosis and appropriate interventions are of paramount importance to overcome these complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey. Electronic address: gokalpaltun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gokalp
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kanuni Education and Research Hospital, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dogus
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hemsinli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kutanis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gurkan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gazioglu
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D017586:Diskectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000601:surgery; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000009:adverse effects*; D055009:Spondylosis / Q000601:surgery; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D057772:Vascular System Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Scalpel; Spinal surgery; Vascular injury