Complications after Lumbar Spinal Surgery

From 1976 to 1995, 288 primary and 33 reoperations for lumbar spinal disorders were performed in our department. The average age of the patients was 45 years (range, 13-81 years). Anterior procedure was used in 41 operations, and posterior in 280. Arthrodesis was performed at the same time in all operations using the anterior procedure and in 89 of those using the posterior procedure. We evaluated the postoperative complications of these operations.The overall complication rate was 34.9%. However, the complication rate, excluding minor problems such as wound problems, pressure sores, and stomachache, which were well controlled with medication and disappeared within one day, was 17.1%. The rates of gastrointestinal, genitourinary, cardiovascular, pancreato-hepatocystic, and psychotic complications, and DIC were 5.0%, 4.7%, 3.4%, 1.6%, 0.9%, 0.9%, respectively.The average age of patients with gastrointestinal, genitourinary, cardiovascular, pancreato-hepatocystic, and psychotic complications, and DIC were 46.8, 56.3, 48.0, 51.6, 66.7, 49.8, 57.0 years, respectively. Patients with genitourinary or psychotic complications were significantly older than those without postoperative complications.Gastrointestinal, genitourinary, cardiovascular, pancreato-hepatocystic, and psychotic complications, and DIC occurred at an average of 5.4, 25.8, 24.7, 26.6, 8.7, 5.3 days after surgery, respectively. Therefore, gastrointestinal, and psychotic complications, and DIC occurred about one week after surgery, compared to genitourinary, cardiovascular, and pancreato-hepatocystic complications which occurred about one month after surgery.