Ramzan Hussain, Bilal Khan, Akram Ullah, Ikram Alam, Mohammad Idris Khan, Mumtaz Ali.
Incidental Durotomy in Lumbar Microdiskectomy; Incidence, Management and Early Sequelae.
Pak J Neuro Surg Jan ;18(1):91-4.

Objective: To know about the incidence, management and early sequelae of incidental durotomy during lumbar microdiskectomy.Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study. The duration of the study was six months from January 24th to 20th July 2013. The charts and records of the patient from the operation notes were reviewed and the parameters like the age, sex, side and location of the disc, mean hospital stay and any documented leak or neural deficit were recorded on a designed proforma. All patients undergoing lumbar microdiskectomy for the first time were included in the study and the patients having a repeated surgery as well as other indications (stenosis, tumor, trauma) excluded from the study.Results: A total of 147 patients were included in the study including 87 males and 60 females with a male to female ratio of 1.5 to 1. The age range was 18 – 63 years with a mean age of 34 ± 6 years. The most common level was L4 – L5. Right side was more common than the left side and the four patients (2.7%) had an incidental durotomy which was repaired intra-operatively. The patient with an incidental have any focal deficit apart from the prolongation of the hospital stay.Conclusion: Incidental durotomy is an infrequent complication of lumbar microdiskectomy and there is little early clinical sequelae apart from prolongation of hospital stay.

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