Dural Tears in Spine Surgery

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J Am Acad Orthop Surg, Vol 18, No 9, September 2010 Michael T. Espiritu, MD, Alfred Rhyne, MD and Bruce V. Darden, II, MD Dural tears are among the most commonly seen complications in spine surgery. Most studies in the literature indicate that long-term outcomes are not negatively affected, provided that the tears are diagnosed early and managed appropriately. Direct suture repair remains the preferred method for the management of durotomy caused by or found during surgery. However, recent literature reports encouraging results with sutureless repair. Understanding dural anatomy, dural healing, and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics is helpful in choosing among the available management options for dural tear.