Treatment of hematomas in operation area after anterior approach surgery for cervical spondylosis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the treatment and prevention strategies of hematomas in operation area after anterior approach surgery for cervical spondylosis.Methods A retrospective review was conducted on 12 with hematoma compression in operation area out of 785 patients managed by anterior cervical surgery from January 2007 to July 2013,including 10 males and 2 females at age ranging from 40-71 years (mean 56.8 years).Surgery method was anterior cervical corpectomy and interbody fusion using titanium mesh cage plus plate and intraoperative blood loss was 300-1 200 ml.Primary clinical manifestations were neurological dysfunction in 5 patients,dyspnea in 6,and both neurological dysfunction and dyspnea in 1.There were 10 patients with the presence of symptoms at postoperative 0.5-22 hours,1 at postoperative 73 hours,and 1 at postoperative 74 hours.All the 12 patients underwent a second anterior cervical exploration.Results There were 5 patients with epidural hematoma,6 with subcutaneous hematoma,and 1 with both hematomas.After surgical interventions,the patients presented improvement in respiratory and neurological function,with inapparent respiratory abnormality and improved neurological function at discharge.One patient was died of cardiovascular-associated disease after being discharged from hospital.The left 11 patients were followed up for mean 19.8 months (range,6-43 months),with improved Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score at final follow-up.Conclusions Hematoma took place frequently in the early period,especially within 24 hours in operation area after anterior approach to cervical disorders and close attention should be paid to respiratory and limb sensation and motion functions.Early detection and early surgical interventions are the key countermeasures to avoiding the severe results. Key words: Cervical vertebrae ; Hematoma; Surgical procedures, operative