Symptomatic root compression by a free fat transplant after hemilaminectomy

Case report

Jose M. CabezudoService of Neurosurgery, Complejo Sanitario “Virgen de Lluch,” Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain

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 M.D., Ph.D.
,
Alfredo LopezService of Neurosurgery, Complejo Sanitario “Virgen de Lluch,” Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain

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 M.D.
, and
Fernando BacciService of Neurosurgery, Complejo Sanitario “Virgen de Lluch,” Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain

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 M.D., Ph.D.
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Page Range:
633–635
Volume/Issue:
Volume 63: Issue 4
DOI link:
https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.1985.63.4.0633
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✓ The authors report a case in which a free fat graft, placed at the operative site after hemilaminectomy for lumbar disc herniation, was forced into the spinal canal by action of the paraspinal muscles and behaved as a symptomatic space-occupying lesion. The patient recovered satisfactorily after the graft was removed. The pathogenetic mechanism is discussed and guidelines to avoid this complication are outlined.

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Contributor Notes

Address reprint requests to: Jose M. Cabezudo, M.D., Apartado de Correos nº 382, Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain.
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