Skip to main content

View full-text article in PMC

. 2016 Jun 1;9(3):290–298. doi: 10.1007/s12178-016-9350-y

Table 2.

Neurological complications of anterior and lateral lumbar surgery

	Structure	Clinical Finding	Incidence (%)	Recovery
Anterior^a	Superior hypogastric plexus	Retrograde ejaculation	1.7–6	Partial to full in 33 % at 1–2 years
	Lumbar sympathetic trunk	Hyperthermia of ipsilateral lower extremity	4–10	Partial to full recovery in 76 %
	Nerve root	Radicular pain	4	Partial to full recovery in 75 %
Lateral^b	Psoas muscle	Hip flexion weakness	1.6–54	Full recovery expected
	Femoral nerve
	Motor	Leg extension and hip flexion weakness	1.4–24	Motor: Partial recovery in 100 %, complete recovery in 33–100 %
	Sensory	Thigh and leg numbness	10–83	Sensory: Partial to full recovery in 67–90 %
	Individual nerve root	Sensory loss	1–24	Partial to full recovery in 10 to 75 %
	Individual nerve root	Motor weakness	3–17	Partial to full recovery in 10 to 75 %
	Thoracoabdominal nerve	Abdominal wall bulge	2.8–4.2	Partial to full recovery in 50 %

^aAnterior approach performed via retroperitoneal approach

^bLateral approach reflects retroperitoneal transpsoas exposure