Endovascular Management of Iatrogenic Vertebral Artery Transection During Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Case Report

Abstract

Anterior surgical approaches to the cervical spinal pathology have become a frequently used technique. Anterior cervical spine surgeries are generally considered to be safe with low incidence of neurological complications. Vertebral artery (VA) injuries are infrequent during an anterior cervical spine approach but can be devastating. A retrospective review of these injuries documents an incidence of 0.3%–0.5%. However, there is no established strategy or guidelines for managing iatrogenic VA injuries. We describe a case of iatrogenic VA injury at C5 vertebral level during an anterior cervical approach for C5 cervical osteoblastoma; successful managed by endovascular coiling using detachable coils achieving complete occlusion. The patient had a good clinical outcome, with no symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency at 2-year follow-up. There is a paradigm shift in the management of the VA injury after introduction of the interventional angiography. Endovascular embolization is a safe and effective treatment option, which offers certain advantages over open surgery such as minimal invasion, lower risk of neurological injury, lower morbidity, and recurrence rates.

Keywords

• cervical spine
• vertebral artery transection
• endovascular embolization