Other

LATE EFFECTS AND COMPLICATIONS OF SUBLAMINAR WIRE APPLICATIONS

  • Nafiz BİLSEL
  • Önder AYDINGÖZ
  • Mustafa ANTER

J Turk Spinal Surg 1993;4(4):93-95

499 sublaminar wire applications were done in the operations of 58 patients with different vertebral disorders betvveen 1985 and 1993. 0,9 mm wires were used in ali of these operations and ali operations were performed by the same surgeon. The number of sublaminar wires used for each patient varied from 1 to 26. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage from the incision site and infection due to this fistula was observed in one patient on 3rd postoperative day. Harrington rod and sublaminar wires of this scoliosis patient were extracted 9 months after the surgery. Late infection occurred in another patient. No majör neurologic complication was observed in any of the patients. Dur-ing a mean follow-up period of 55 (12-91) months, 17 of these 499 (3,4%) wires vjere found to be broken. The level of the broken wires were found to be either the most proximal or the most distal segments. We did not observe any neurologic deficits or any pathological changes in the adjacent tissues at final clinical and radiological evaiua-tion of the patients. İn conclusion, the use of sublaminar wires can be performed with a low incidence ofcomplica-tions if proper technique is used.

Keywords: Sublaminar wire, complications