Spinal surgery is a serious operation with both risks and benefits. Patients should understand all of their options before deciding on a particular surgery such as artificial disc replacement or spinal fusion. Sometimes spinal operations, specifically lumbar discectomies, may have risk of durotomy, which is a tear or incision of the dura mater – the outer layer of the spinal cord.
Luckily, new research illustrates that incidental durotomy does not cause long-term harm, according to Dr. Owoicho Adogwa and her team from North Carolina-based Duke University. Surgeons accidentally damage the dura mater during lumbar spine surgery in 1 percent to 17 percent of cases.
The researchers followed 70 patients who underwent durotomies and 1,671 who did not. Durotomies have led patients to experience severe headaches, but the researchers found no statistical significance for back/leg pain, spine cord injury, and surgical site infections between two groups of patients – those who’ve had durotomies and those who haven’t.
“There is no statistically significant difference between the patients who experienced a durotomy and those who did not at 1 and 2 years in the way they perceive their functional improvement in pain and disability and quality of life,” Dr. Owoicho Adogwa told Medscape Medical News.
This research is important for spinal surgeons to let their patients know about. This one particular risk of spinal surgery may not cause as much damage as previously thought and patients may be no less healthy than their counterparts who did not undergo a durotomy.
Both short-term and long-term quality outcome studies are a vital area of research for the spinal care community. Patients should be aware of all risks and benefits of the surgery they are choosing.