BACKGROUND The objective of this study is to determine the clinical and surgical outcomes following lumbar laminectomy. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed medical records of neurosurgical patients who underwent first-time, bilateral, 1-3 level laminectomies for degenerative lumbar disease. Patients with discectomy, complete facetectomy, and fusion were excluded. RESULTS Five hundred patien...

Iatrogenic or incidental dural tear is a relatively common complication in lumbar decompression surgery. Although mostly there are no changes that occurred in long-term result following an incidental durotomy, the sequelae are not always benign especially when the herniated nerve root is involved. Preservation and tissue handling is paramount in order to prevent further injury. Two cases of dur...

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to use a prospectively collected data to evaluate the rate of incidental durotomy (ID) during lumbar surgery and determine the associated risk factors by using univariate and multivariate analysis. Methods: We prospectively reviewed 2184 patients who underwent lumbar surgery from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011 at a single hospital. Patients wi...

BACKGROUND Postoperative bacterial meningitis is a rare complication of spinal surgery and is considered to be a complication related to intraoperative incidental durotomy. A high index of suspicion for meningitis is essential in patients who have the clinical triad of fever, neck stiffness and consciousness disturbance during the postoperative period. A delay in diagnosis or treatment can lead...

Acute obstructive hydrocephalus due to infratentorial extra-axial fluid collection (EAFC) is an extremely rare complication of foramen magnum decompression (FMD) and durotomy for Chiari malformation type I. Presence of infratentorial  EAFC invariably causes obstruction at the level of the fourth ventricle or aqueduct of Silvius, thereby indicating its definitive role in hydrocephalus. Pathogene...