Postoperative Acute Mesenteric Ischemia after Lumbar Discectomy

Postoperative Acute Mesenteric Ischemia after Lumbar Discectomy

The lumbar discectomy is the surgery with low morbidity itself and need the prone position, which is essential for this surgery. However, the increased intra-abdominal pressure after changing supine to prone position may lead intra-abdominal hypertension or abdominal compartment syndrome, consequently acute mesenteric ischemia. Acute mesenteric ischemia is one of the fatal conditions of acute abdomen with overall mortality of 60% to 100%. Unfortunately, the early detection of mesenteric ischemia in perioperative period of spinal surgery is difficult. We herein report an experience of acute mesenteric ischemia after lumbar discectomy in prone position, and review the relative literatures.