Cranial nerve palsies due to incidental durotomy in lumbar Spine surgery: a case report

Abstract

We present a 65-year old man who underwent a partial laminectomy at L4. During surgery an incidental durotomy (ID) appeared. Postoperatively he developed cranial nerve palsies. Subsequent to surgical closure of the ID, symptoms completely resolved within three months.

Keywords:

• Cranial nerve palsies
• abducens nerve palsy
• spine surgery
• incidental durotomy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Informed consent

The patient described in the case report has given written consent to the inclusion of material pertaining to him. The patient acknowledges that he cannot be identified via the paper. The authors have fully anonymized the patient.