Korean J Crit Care Med.  1997 Nov;12(2):159-162.

A Case of Rupture of Right Common Iliac Artery and Vein during Lumbar Discectomy: A case report

• Jang Y
• Ji SE
• Cho EJ
• Park SS
• Jung SY
• Song HK

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.

Keyword

Complications; vascular injury; Surgery; lumbar discectomy

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Adult
Arteries
Diskectomy*
Early Diagnosis
Emergencies
Female
Hematoma
Hemorrhage
Humans
Hypotension
Iliac Artery*
Myocardial Infarction
Pulmonary Embolism
Rupture*
Tachycardia
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Vascular System Injuries
Veins*
Wounds and Injuries