Multimodality management of vertebral artery injury sustained during cervical or craniocervical surgery.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Iatrogenic vertebral artery (VA) injury is a rare but potentially devastating complication associated with cervical and craniocervical surgery. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate treatment modalities and outcomes associated with iatrogenic VA injury. METHODS: Our institutional surgical database was queried for patients who underwent cervical or craniocervical surgery from January 1997 to August 2012. RESULTS: During this time period, 8213 patients underwent cervical or craniocervical surgery, and 17 (0.2%) cases of VA injury were identified. Eight (47%) of these injuries occurred during C1-2 instrumentation procedures. Primary microsurgical repair of the VA was performed in 5..