Dysphagia and Dysphonia Jung U. Yoo Jayme R. Hiratzka Postoperative dysphagia and dysphonia are well-recognized complications of anterior cervical spine surgery. While the majority of patients with postoperative dysphagia and…
Iatrogenic Spinal Cord Injuries Nelson S. Saldua James S. Harrop The ultimate goal of spine surgeons is to provide the optimal care for their patients such that they can obtain…
Postsurgical C5 Nerve Root Palsy Kurtus A. Dafford Robert A. Hart Postoperative C5 palsy is a well-known complication of ventral and dorsal decompressive surgery for cervical myelopathy. While involvement of…
Vertebral Artery Injury Alan H. Daniels Daniel K. Riew Robert A. Hart Iatrogenic vertebral artery (VA) injury is an uncommon but potentially serious complication of cervical spine surgery. When VA…
Esophageal Perforation Alexander C. Ching Todd J. Albert Robert A. Hart ESOPHAGEAL INJURY Esophageal injury is a potentially devastating complication of ventral cervical surgery. Mechanisms of injury have included cervical…
Cervical Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage, Durotomy, and Pseudomeningocele Seth M. Zeidman Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are relatively uncommon after cervical spinal surgery; however, they inevitably happen at least occasionally to every…
Graft Dislodgement Scott C. McGovern Winston Fong Jeffrey C. Wang GRAFT DISLODGEMENT Cervical spine pathology arising from degenerative disease, tumor, trauma, or infection may present with multilevel involvement. When the…
Ventral Cervical Pseudarthrosis Sanford E. Emery Failure of fusion after attempted arthrodesis is a wellknown complication of operative intervention in any region of the spine. This has been recognized for…
Halo-Related Complications Robert C. Decker Steven R. Garfin The halo was initially described in 1959 for cervical immobilization of patients following uninstrumented fusion for poliomyelitis (1). Since then, its indications…
Complications in the Treatment of Subaxial Cervical Fractures and Dislocations Rolando Figueroa Roberto Eric O. Klineberg Subaxial cervical spine fractures and dislocations are common injuries. Many opportunities may arise for…
