late Vascular Complication With Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

The authors report a patient with delayed inferior thyroid artery pseudoaneurysm after uneventful anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. The Smith-Robinson approach to the anterior cervical spine is a commonly used and relatively safe surgical approach for cervical disc disease. This case is unusual in two respects: 1) the vascular complication occurred 9 days postoperatively; and 2) the inferior thyroid artery was embolized without the need for immediate exploration and surgical ligation. The patient was successfully managed with therapeutic embolization. [Key words: anterior discectomy, embolization, Smith-Robinson approach, vascular complications] Spine 1994;19:1291–1293