PREOPERATIVE SPINAL ARTERY LOCALIZATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO POSTOPERATIVE NEUROLOGIC COMPLICATIONS

PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk of spinal cord revascularization and asc ertain the relationship between preoperative spinal arteriography and the frequency of postoperative neurologic injury and overall morbidity and mortality in patients who require surgical repair of thoracoabdom inal aortic aneurysms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients scheduled for surgical repair of a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm underwent s pinal arteriography. All patients were divided into a positive spinal artery group (in which the spinal artery was identified) or negative s pinal artery group (in which the spinal artery was not identified) and further divided based on extent of disease. RESULTS: The complication rate of spinal arteriography was 4.6%; no patient had a permanent neu rologic injury. No significant difference existed between the positive and negative spinal artery groups in occurrence of neurologic injury (P = .88) or combined morbidity and mortality (P = .51). CONCLUSION: P atients who require spinal cord revascularization do not have greater frequency of neurologic injury or overall morbidity and mortality than those without this requirement. Spinal arteriography enables definiti ve spinal cord revascularization and thereby reduces the risk of neuro logic injury.