Cervical spine surgery is a very difficult and risky type of surgery in orthopedics, and the possible risks include: anesthesia accident, postoperative infection, intraoperative hemorrhage, intraoperative damage to important nerves, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage.
1. Anesthesia accident: Anesthesia is an important prerequisite for all surgical procedures, and there are anesthesia risks in any surgery, such as malignant hyperthermia, intraoperative cardiovascular and cerebral vascular accidents, intraoperative hypotension, and allergy to anesthesia drugs. Anesthesiologists should be asked to fully assess the patient’s condition before surgery to minimize the risk.
2. Infection: Postoperative infection is a very serious complication of cervical spine surgery, which may cause surgical failure, infectious shock, central nervous system infection and other serious consequences.
3. Intraoperative hemorrhage: spinal surgery itself has more bleeding, and there are vertebral arteries around the cervical spine, so it is easy to damage the vertebral arteries and cause intraoperative hemorrhage if the operation is not done properly.
4. Important nerve injury: the cervical spinal canal houses the cervical cord, and inadvertent injury to the roots of the cervical cord during the operation may result in paralysis of the patient after the operation. In addition, damage to the cervical nerve roots can lead to upper limb dysfunction.
5. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage: If the dura mater is inadvertently damaged during cervical spine surgery, cerebrospinal fluid leakage may occur, and in severe cases, a second surgery may be needed to repair the leakage.
Cervical spine surgery is difficult and high-risk, with high requirements for the operator, anesthesia, and related surgical instruments, etc. It is recommended that patients go to a professional hospital, fully communicate with the treating doctor in light of their condition, and make a decision after careful consideration.