Abstract
BackgroundAn incidental dural tear is a well-known complication during spine surgery. A rare consequence is a postoperative nerve root herniation. The purpose of this report is to describe a case of such a herniation with entrapment in the facet gap joint and to present the first MR images of this rare surgical complication.Case presentationWe report a case of a patient who underwent lumbar decompression surgery and afterwards suffered a sudden intractable sciatica. Postoperative MRI showed a new facet joint gap effusion. During revision surgery an entrapped nerve root was found in the facet joint gap. In retrospective, the herniated nerve root is visible on postoperative MRI.ConclusionThis case report highlights a rare complication during spine surgery. This finding is important as signs suggestive for nerve root herniation can easily be overlooked on MRI. Furthermore, this represents the first MRI documentation of this complication.
Highlights
An incidental dural tear is a well-known complication during spine surgery
Less common are intraoperative unrecognized or postoperative spontaneous dural tears leading to subsequent symptoms with reports of 0.28% in spine surgery [2]
We describe an exceptional case of such a herniation and present the first Magnetic resonance (MR) images of this rare surgical complication
Summary
This case report highlights a rare complication during spine surgery. This finding is important as signs suggestive for nerve root herniation can be overlooked on MRI. This represents the first MRI documentation of this complication
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