Skip to main content

Perioperative Care of the Complex Spine and Scoliosis Surgery Patient

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Perioperative Care of the Orthopedic Patient
  • 1397 Accesses

Abstract

Modern spinal surgery can range from relatively simple ambulatory micro-discectomy to complex front and back approaches to deformity correction and spine fusion. Patients are best served using a multidisciplinary team including surgeons, perioperative medical specialists, ENT surgeons, subspecialty trained anesthesiologists, nursing, and physical therapy. Complications are an intrinsic reality of complex modern spine surgery. Complications are observed more commonly as the complexity of the surgery is increased as well as in patients with preoperative medical comorbidities. The cardiopulmonary complications are the most common necessitating careful preoperative evaluation and optimization. Intra-operative neurologic monitoring has become the standard of care and has benefitted from recent technological advances such as the ability to monitor motor evoked potentials. Specialized anesthetic approaches including total intravenous anesthesia may improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the monitoring. Postoperative vision loss occurs infrequently following complex and prolonged spinal procedures. The most common cause is ischemic optic neuropathy. The etiology of postoperative ION at present is unknown and unpredictable. However, several possible pathogenic factors have been suggested including duration in the prone position, blood loss, anemia, hypotension, abnormal optic nerve blood supply, low cup-to-disc ratio, use of vasopressors, excessive crystalloid infusion, and patient comorbidities; particularly smoking, diabetes, and vascular disease. The ASA practice advisory on POVL recommends the use of both colloids and crystalloids to maintain intravascular volume in spine surgery patients who have substantial blood loss. Since ION occurs in the absence of vascular injury to other critical organs and in cases where neither hypotension or anemia are reported, optic nerve blood supply may be uniquely vulnerable to hemodynamic perturbances in the prone position. Blood management may include preoperative autologous donation. Antifibrinolytic agents have been demonstrated to be a useful adjunct in reducing peri-operative blood loss. Pain management can be a challenging problem for the complex spine patient. Patient controlled intravenous analgesia is associated with higher patient satisfaction. Specialized pain management teams will often provide for better resource and pain management utilization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Cloyd JM, Acosta Jr FL, Cloyd C, Ames CP. Effects of age on perioperative complications of extensive multilevel thoracolumbar spinal fusion surgery. J Neurosurg Spine. 2010;12(4):402–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Faciszewski T, Winter RB, Lonstein JE, Denis F, Johnson L. The surgical and medical perioperative complications of anterior spinal fusion surgery in the thoracic and lumbar spine in adults. A review of 1223 procedures. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1995;20(14):1592–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fujita T, Kostuik JP, Huckell CB, Sieber AN. Complications of spinal fusion in adult patients more than 60 years of age. Orthop Clin North Am. 1998;29(4):669–78.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Fu KM, Smith JS, Polly Jr DW, Ames CP, Berven SH, Perra JH, McCarthy RE, Knapp Jr DR, Shaffrey CI. Correlation of higher preoperative American Society of Anesthesiology grade and increased morbidity and mortality rates in patients undergoing spine surgery. J Neurosurg Spine. 2011;14(4):470–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hamilton DK, et al. Rates of new neurological deficit associated with spine surgery based on 108,419 procedures: a report of the scoliosis research society morbidity and mortality committee. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011;36(15):1218–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Sansur CA, Smith JS, Coe JD, Glassman SD, Berven SH, Polly Jr DW, Perra JH, Boachie-Adjei O, Shaffrey CI. Scoliosis research society morbidity and mortality of adult scoliosis surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011;36(9):E593–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Schoenfeld AJ, Ochoa LM, Bader JO, Belmont Jr PJ. Risk factors for immediate postoperative complications and mortality following spine surgery: a study of 3475 patients from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011;93(17):1577–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Salerno SM, Carlson DW, Soh EK, Lettieri CJ. Impact of perioperative cardiac assessment guidelines on management of orthopedic surgery patients. Am J Med. 2007;120(2):185.e1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Urban M, Jules-Elysee K, Loughlin C. The one-year incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction in an orthopedic population. HSS J. 2009;5:27–30.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Sinatra RS, Torres J, Bustos AM. Pain management after major orthopaedic surgery: current strategies and new concepts. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2002;10(2):117–29.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Poldermans D, et al. Should major vascular surgery be delayed because of preoperative cardiac testing in intermediate-risk patients receiving beta-blocker therapy with tight heart rate control? J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;48(5):964–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Eagle KA, Rihal CS, Mickel MC, Holmes DR, Foster ED, Gersh BJ. Cardiac risk of noncardiac surgery: influence of coronary disease and type of surgery in 3368 operations. CASS Investigators and University of Michigan Heart Care Program. Coronary Artery Surgery Study. Circulation. 1997;96(6):1882–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. McFalls EO, et al. Coronary-artery revascularization before elective major vascular surgery. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(27):2795–804.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Vicenzi MN, Meislitzer T, Heitzinger B, Halaj M, Fleisher LA, Metzler H. Coronary artery stenting and non-cardiac surgery—a prospective outcome study. Br J Anaesth. 2006;96(6):686–93.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Brilakis ES, Banerjee S, Berger PB. Perioperative management of patients with coronary stents. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49(22):2145–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Raby KE, Brull SJ, Timimi F, Akhtar S, Rosenbaum S, Naimi C, Whittemore AD. The effect of heart rate control on myocardial ischemia among high-risk patients after vascular surgery. Anesth Analg. 1999;88(3):477–82.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Urban MK, Markowitz SM, Gordon MA, Urquhart BL, Kligfield P. Postoperative prophylactic administration of beta-adrenergic blockers in patients at risk for myocardial ischemia. Anesth Analg. 2000;90(6):1257–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Devereaux PJ, Goldman L, Cook DJ, Gilbert K, Leslie K, Guyatt GH. Perioperative cardiac events in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery: a review of the magnitude of the problem, the pathophysiology of the events and methods to estimate and communicate risk. CMAJ. 2005;173(6):627–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Wiesbauer F, Schlager O, Domanovits H, Wildner B, Maurer G, Muellner M, Blessberger H, Schillinger M. Perioperative beta-blockers for preventing surgery-related mortality and morbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Anesth Analg. 2007;104(1):27–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fleisher LA, et al. ACC/AHA 2006 guideline update on perioperative cardiovascular evaluation for noncardiac surgery: focused update on perioperative beta-blocker therapy—a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Update the 2002 Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery). Anesth Analg. 2007;104(1):15–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Kroenke K, Lawrence VA, Theroux JF, Tuley MR, Hilsenbeck S. Postoperative complications after thoracic and major abdominal surgery in patients with and without obstructive lung disease. Chest. 1993;104(5):1445–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Culver BH. Preoperative assessment of the thoracic surgery patient: pulmonary function testing. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2001;13(2):92–104.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Glassman SD, Anagnost SC, Parker A, Burke D, Johnson JR, Dimar JR. The effect of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on spinal fusion. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2000;25(20):2608–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Nakagawa M, Tanaka H, Tsukuma H, Kishi Y. Relationship between the duration of the preoperative smoke-free period and the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications after pulmonary surgery. Chest. 2001;120(3):705–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Rizzi PE, Winter RB, Lonstein JE, Denis F, Perra JH. Adult spinal deformity and respiratory failure. Surgical results in 35 patients. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1997;22(21):2517–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Ramakrishna G, Sprung J, Ravi BS, Chandrasekaran K, McGoon MD. Impact of pulmonary hypertension on the outcomes of noncardiac surgery: predictors of perioperative morbidity and mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;45(10):1691–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Olsen MA, Nepple JJ, Riew KD, Lenke LG, Bridwell KH, Mayfield J, Fraser VJ. Risk factors for surgical site infection following orthopaedic spinal operations. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008;90(1):62–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. van den Berghe G, et al. Intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(19):1359–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Kao LS, Meeks D, Moyer VA, Lally KP. Peri-operative glycaemic control regimens for preventing surgical site infections in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009(3):CD006806.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Wiener RS, Wiener DC, Larson RJ. Benefits and risks of tight glucose control in critically ill adults: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2008;300(8):933–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Stryker LS, Abdel MP, Morrey ME, Morrow MM, Kor DJ, Morrey BF. Elevated postoperative blood glucose and preoperative hemoglobin A1C are associated with increased wound complications following total joint arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013;95(9):808–14. S1–2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Neer RM, et al. Effect of parathyroid hormone (1-34) on fractures and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 2001;344(19):1434–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Lindsay R, Nieves J, Formica C, Henneman E, Woelfert L, Shen V, Dempster D, Cosman F. Randomised controlled study of effect of parathyroid hormone on vertebral-bone mass and fracture incidence among postmenopausal women on oestrogen with osteoporosis. Lancet. 1997;350(9077):550–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Kaufman JM, Orwoll E, Goemaere S, San Martin J, Hossain A, Dalsky GP, Lindsay R, Mitlak BH. Teriparatide effects on vertebral fractures and bone mineral density in men with osteoporosis: treatment and discontinuation of therapy. Osteoporos Int. 2005;16(5):510–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Karikari IO, Nimjee SM, Hardin CA, Hughes BD, Hodges TR, Mehta AI, Choi J, Brown CR, Isaacs RE. Extreme lateral interbody fusion approach for isolated thoracic and thoracolumbar spine diseases: initial clinical experience and early outcomes. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2011;24(6):368–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Campos JH. An update on bronchial blockers during lung separation techniques in adults. Anesth Analg. 2003;97(5):1266–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Brier-Jones JE, Palmer DK, Inceoglu S, Cheng WK. Vertebral body fractures after transpsoas interbody fusion procedures. Spine J. 2011;11(11):1068–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Moller DJ, Slimack NP, Acosta Jr FL, Koski TR, Fessler RG, Liu JC. Minimally invasive lateral lumbar interbody fusion and transpsoas approach-related morbidity. Neurosurg Focus. 2011;31(4):E4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Papanastassiou ID, Eleraky M, Vrionis FD. Contralateral femoral nerve compression: an unrecognized complication after extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF). J Clin Neurosci. 2011;18(1):149–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Vauzelle C, Stagnara P, Jouvinroux P. Functional monitoring of spinal cord activity during spinal surgery. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1973;93:173–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Eggspuehler A, Sutter MA, Grob D, Jeszenszky D, Dvorak J. Multimodal intraoperative monitoring during surgery of spinal deformities in 217 patients. Eur Spine J. 2007;16 Suppl 2:S188–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Kumar A, Bhattacharya A, Makhija N. Evoked potential monitoring in anaesthesia and analgesia. Anaesthesia. 2000;55(3):225–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Sihle-Wissel M, Scholz M, Cunitz G. Transcranial magnetic-evoked potentials under total intravenous anaesthesia and nitrous oxide. Br J Anaesth. 2000;85(3):465–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Nuttall GA, Horlocker TT, Santrach PJ, Oliver Jr WC, Dekutoski MB, Bryant S. Predictors of blood transfusions in spinal instrumentation and fusion surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2000;25(5):596–601.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Goodnough LT, et al. Increased preoperative collection of autologous blood with recombinant human erythropoietin therapy. N Engl J Med. 1989;321(17):1163–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Murray D. Acute normovolemic hemodilution. Eur Spine J. 2004;13 Suppl 1:S72–5.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Urban MK, Beckman J, Gordon M, Urquhart B, Boachie-Adjei O. The efficacy of antifibrinolytics in the reduction of blood loss during complex adult reconstructive spine surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2001;26(10):1152–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Mangano DT, et al. Mortality associated with aprotinin during 5 years following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. JAMA. 2007;297(5):471–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Sachs B, Delacy D, Green J, Graham RS, Ramsay J, Kreisler N, Kruse P, Khutoryansky N, Hu SS. Recombinant activated factor VII in spinal surgery: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation trial. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007;32(21):2285–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Solomon DH, O'Driscoll K, Sosne G, Weinstein IB, Cayre YE. 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced regulation of protein kinase C gene expression during HL-60 cell differentiation. Cell Growth Differ. 1991;2(4):187–94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Hersey SL, O'Dell NE, Lowe S, Rasmussen G, Tobias JD, Deshpande JK, Mencio G, Green N. Nicardipine versus nitroprusside for controlled hypotension during spinal surgery in adolescents. Anesth Analg. 1997;84(6):1239–44.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Zausig YA, Weigand MA, Graf BM. Perioperative fluid management: an analysis of the present situation. Anaesthesist. 2006;55(4):371–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Marik PE, Baram M, Vahid B. Does central venous pressure predict fluid responsiveness? A systematic review of the literature and the tale of seven mares. Chest. 2008;134(1):172–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Urban MK, Urquhart B, Boachie-Adjei O. Evidence of lung injury during reconstructive surgery for adult spinal deformities with pulmonary artery pressure monitoring. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2001;26(4):387–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Tuman KJ, Roizen MF. Outcome assessment and pulmonary artery catheterization: why does the debate continue? Anesth Analg. 1997;84(1):1–4.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Cregg N, Mannion D, Casey W. Oliguria during corrective spinal surgery for idiopathic scoliosis: the role of antidiuretic hormone. Paediatr Anaesth. 1999;9(6):505–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Rivers E, Nguyen B, Havstad S, Ressler J, Muzzin A, Knoblich B, Peterson E, Tomlanovich M. Early goal-directed therapy in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(19):1368–77.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Pull ter Gunne AF, Skolasky RL, Ross H, van Laarhoven CJ, Cohen DB. Influence of perioperative resuscitation status on postoperative spine surgery complications. Spine J. 2010;10(2):129–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Urban MK, Jules-Elysee KM, Beckman JB, Sivjee K, King T, Kelsey W, Boachie-Adjei O. Pulmonary injury in patients undergoing complex spine surgery. Spine J. 2005;5(3):269–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Funk DJ, Moretti EW, Gan TJ. Minimally invasive cardiac output monitoring in the perioperative setting. Anesth Analg. 2009;108(3):887–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Michard F, Lopes MR, Auler Jr JO. Pulse pressure variation: beyond the fluid management of patients with shock. Crit Care. 2007;11(3):131.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Chang SH, Miller NR. The incidence of vision loss due to perioperative ischemic optic neuropathy associated with spine surgery: the Johns Hopkins Hospital Experience. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2005;30(11):1299–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Patil CG, Lad EM, Lad SP, Ho C, Boakye M. Visual loss after spine surgery: a population-based study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008;33(13):1491–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Shen Y, Drum M, Roth S. The prevalence of perioperative visual loss in the United States: a 10-year study from 1996 to 2005 of spinal, orthopedic, cardiac, and general surgery. Anesth Analg. 2009;109(5):1534–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Lee LA, Roth S, Posner KL, Cheney FW, Caplan RA, Newman NJ, Domino KB. The American Society of Anesthesiologists Postoperative Visual Loss Registry: analysis of 93 spine surgery cases with postoperative visual loss. Anesthesiology. 2006;105(4):652–9. quiz 867–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Roth S. Perioperative visual loss: what do we know, what can we do? Br J Anaesth. 2009;103 Suppl 1:i31–40.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Cheng MA, Todorov A, Tempelhoff R, McHugh T, Crowder CM, Lauryssen C. The effect of prone positioning on intraocular pressure in anesthetized patients. Anesthesiology. 2001;95(6):1351–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Holy SE, Tsai JH, McAllister RK, Smith KH. Perioperative ischemic optic neuropathy: a case control analysis of 126,666 surgical procedures at a single institution. Anesthesiology. 2009;110(2):246–53.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Myers MA, Hamilton SR, Bogosian AJ, Smith CH, Wagner TA. Visual loss as a complication of spine surgery. A review of 37 cases. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1997;22(12):1325–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Task ASA. Force on perioperative blindness. Practice advisory for periopeartive visual loss associated with spine surgery. Anesthesiology. 2006;104:1319–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Bible JE, Biswas D, Whang PG, Simpson AK, Rechtine GR, Grauer JN. Postoperative bracing after spine surgery for degenerative conditions: a questionnaire study. Spine J. 2009;9(4):309–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Horodyski M, DiPaola CP, Conrad BP, Rechtine 2nd GR. Cervical collars are insufficient for immobilizing an unstable cervical spine injury. J Emerg Med. 2011;41(5):513–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Naylor JR, Mulley GP. Surgical collars: a survey of their prescription and use. Br J Rheumatol. 1991;30(4):282–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Abbott A, Halvorsen M, Dedering A. Is there a need for cervical collar usage post anterior cervical decompression and fusion using interbody cages? A randomized controlled pilot trial. Physiother Theory Pract. 2013;29(4):290–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Miller RA, Hardcastle P, Renwick SE. Lower spinal mobility and external immobilization in the normal and pathologic condition. Orthop Rev. 1992;21(6):753–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Urban MK, Jules-Elysee K, Urquhart B, Cammisa FP, Boachie-Adjei O. Reduction in postoperative pain after spinal fusion with instrumentation using intrathecal morphine. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2002;27(5):535–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Reuben SS, Buvanendran A, Kroin JS, Raghunathan K. The analgesic efficacy of celecoxib, pregabalin, and their combination for spinal fusion surgery. Anesth Analg. 2006;103(5):1271–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Urban MK, Ya Deau JT, Wukovits B, Lipnitsky JY. Ketamine as an adjunct to postoperative pain management in opioid tolerant patients after spinal fusions: a prospective randomized trial. HSS J. 2008;4(1):62–5.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darren R. Lebl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lebl, D.R., Urban, M.K. (2014). Perioperative Care of the Complex Spine and Scoliosis Surgery Patient. In: MacKenzie, C., Cornell, C., Memtsoudis, S. (eds) Perioperative Care of the Orthopedic Patient. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0100-1_26

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0100-1_26

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-0099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-0100-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics