Abstract

Intraabdominal vascular complications associated with lumbar disc surgery are rare but have potentially fatal consequences. Clinical manifestations of such injuries may be extremely variable and confused with anesthetic complications, myocardial infarction, or pulmonary embolism. So, the presence of vascular injury may not be recognized immediately. Recently, we experienced a case of extensive retroperitoneal hemorrhage during lumbar disc surgery. The patient was a 35 year-old healthy female. During operation, unexplained profound hypotension and tachycardia developed, but abnormal bleeding was not seen in the operative wound. Emergency CT of the abdomen was performed, and huge retroperitoneal hematoma was confirmed by the CT scan. Immediate abdominal exploration revealed the injury to right common iliac artery and vein. The patient underwent primary repair of lacerated artery and vein. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. We think awareness of the likelihood of vascular complications related to disc surgery is quite important for early diagnosis and management of these life-threatening complications.

• Keywords: Complications;vascular injury;Surgery;lumbar discectomy;