Abstract
Surgery of subaxial cervical spine may lead to nu-merous and disabling complications. Surgery of this area (C3-C7) carries the risk of three types of complications, like all type of surgical procedures do: Complications related to I. General condition of the patient and anesthesia, II. Positioning, and III. Surgery itself. In this article, we reviewed complications directly related to surgery itself. They were grouped into six: 1. Injury to surrounding structures (carotid ar-tery, internal jugular and brachiocephalic vein, verteb-ral artery, recurrent laryngeal nerve, hypoglossal ner-ve, sympathetic chain, thoracic duct, trachea, esop-hagus, pleura, dura, spinal cord, and roots), 2. Imp-lant and/or graft problems (implant malposition, graft dislocation, avascular necrosis of vertebra), 3. Posto-peratory hematoma, 4. Infection, 5. Problems of graft donor site (hematoma, infection, cosmetic problems, and problems specific to the site of grafting), 6. Late complications (instrument failure, late organ injuries due to instrument or graft problems, graft pseudoart-rosis or collapse, deformity, degenaration of adjacent segments). Each complication was discussed in terms of incidence, etiology, prevention, and treat-ment.
Keywords: cervical vertebrae, operative surgical procedure, complications
