Continuous Mechanical External Compression for Dural Leaks after Lumbar Spine Surgery by Stitching Pads to the Wound, A Conservative Treatment. Report of Two Cases

Author(s): Luis Díez-Albero, María Tíscar García-Ortiz, Miguel Bañuls-Pattarelli, Robert C Mulholland, Fernando López-Prats

Purpose: Description of a non-operative technique for the repair of cerebrospinal (CSF) dural leaks after lumbar spine surgery.

Methods: Two patients, thirty-nine and seventy-six years old respectively, were previously operated of lum- bar discectomy/decompression, and in the following days developed leakage of clear CSF fluid in their surgical wounds. They were treated by means of stitched pads to their wounds, creating continuous external compression reducing the dead space for the CSF to get in.

Results: After, one and two weeks respectively and no evidence of leakage the sutures were removed. The patients were reviewed at 3 and 6-months post operation, where no clinical evidence of dural leaks was found and in one the MRI confirm their absence. At the end, the patients were asymptomatic of their original lumbar complaint.

Conclusion: An alternative simple technique that avoids the necessity of reoperation in the case of post-operative dural tears.