Cerebrospinal fluid leaks following cervical spine surgery

A cerebrospinal fluid leak during cervical spine surgery is a feared complication. However, little is known about the prevalence, management, and long-term course of these events.

The medical records of 1994 patients who had elective cervical spine surgery during an eleven-year period (1994 through 2005) were reviewed. Patients with cervical cerebrospinal fluid leaks identified at the time of surgery were followed both clinically and radiographically for an average of 5.4 years postoperatively. The prevalence, etiology, management, and outcome of all of the cervical cerebrospinal fluid leaks were analyzed.

The overall prevalence of cerebrospinal fluid leaks was 1%. The prevalence of cerebrospinal fluid leaks was higher in patients with a diagnosis of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (12.5%), patients having a revision anterior procedure (1.92%), men (1.56%), and patients undergoing an anterior cervical corpectomy and arthrodesis (1.77%).

Many cervical dural tears can be managed by observation alone or by placement of a lumbar cerebrospinal fluid shunt either during the index procedure or in the postoperative period. At an average follow-up of 5.4 years, there were no long-term sequelae of the cervical dural tears in our series.