Vascular injury during a lumbar laminectomy

A lumbar laminectomy is a common and routine operation. Damage to abdominal vascular structures during surgery is a relatively infrequent complication; however, when it does occur, it is sudden and life-threatening. We herein report on 2 cases of abdominal vascular injury which occurred during lumbar microdiscectomies. The first case was a 34-year-old man. A bloody surgical field was noted 45 min into the operation along with an increase in heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure. After fluid resuscitation and an ephedrine injection, his vital signs stabilized. The patient was then sent to the surgical intensive care unit for observation. An emergent abdominal computer tomography scan revealed right retroperitoneal hematoma, and an urgent exploratory laparotomy was performed to check for bleeding and to remove the hematoma. The second case was a 61-year-old woman with recurrent disc herniation. The operation was proceeding smoothly for 90 min, when a large amount of fresh blood suddenly gushed out. Her blood pressure immediately dropped to that of a state of shock. The patient was turned back to a supine position, and an emergent laparotomy was done to repair the injured vessels. Both patients had uneventful recoveries.