Incidence and risk factors for incidental durotomy in spine surgery for lumbar stenosis and herniated disc

Purpose Incidental durotomy (ID) is one of the most common complications in degenerative surgery. Due to the negative consequences of ID, knowledge about incidence and risk factors is warranted. Methods A total of 1,139 surgical procedures for lumbar spinal stenosis (LS) and lumbar herniated disc (LDH) were included from the spine surgery database: DaneSpine. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed for the assessment of possible risk factors. Results ID occurred in 10.4% of the surgical procedures. A multivariate regression analysis revealed an increased relative risk of ID by 2% per year of age, 58% by revision surgery, and 55% by decompression on multiple levels. Conclusion In our single-centre cohort study, one in ten patients experiences an ID. Increasing age, revision surgery and decompression of multiple levels are risk factors of ID in degenerative surgery of the lumbar spine.