Use of TachoSil for durotomy repair in spine surgery: a single-center retrospective review

Rahul K. Chaliparambil, Hanna R. Kemeny, Shreya Mukherjee, Mykhaylo Krushelnytskyy, Jean Paul Wolinksy, Kevin Swong, Nader S. Dahdaleh, Christopher S. Ahuja, Najib E.El Tecle*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE A significant complication of spine surgery is persistent postoperative CSF leak secondary to intentional or incidental durotomy. Traditionally, the gold standard for repair of simple durotomy has been primary surgical repair; however, this technique alone may not be possible for more complex durotomy and is often supplemented with sealants or fibrin glues. The authors add to the literature the largest series of spine surgery patients treated with TachoSil, a syn- thetic collagen patch containing human fibrinogen and human thrombin, for the management of incidental or intentional durotomy. METHODS The authors identified all patients who underwent a spinal operation and were billed for operative use of TachoSil at their institution between January 1, 2023, and November 3, 2023. Demographic, clinical, and outcome vari- ables were collected and analyzed using standard statistical methods. Categorical variables were reported as number (%), and continuous variables were reported as median (range). RESULTS The authors retrieved 55 patients meeting their inclusion criteria. The population consisted of 29 (52.7%) fe- males, had a median age of 52 years, and had a median BMI of 28.3 kg/m2. Of the repaired durotomies, 37 (67.3%) were intentional to the operation and 18 (32.7%) were incidental or secondary to trauma. Abnormal residual fluid collections were appreciated in 1 (1.8%) patient. Wound breakdown was observed in 2 (3.6%) patients. Thirty-day readmission was observed in 6 (10.9%) patients, and 30-day reoperation was necessary in 2 (3.6%) patients. Ninety-day readmission was observed in 7 (12.7%) patients and 90-day reoperation was necessary in 3 (5.5%) patients. One (1.8%) case of 30-day readmission was related to CSF leak, and no cases of 30-day or 90-day reoperation were related to dural closure failure. CONCLUSIONS This study is a brief examination of the demographic characteristics, surgical variables, and outcomes of durotomy repair in spine surgery with TachoSil and provides encouraging results for the continued use of the material in this context. This study provides the impetus for examination of TachoSil in larger, multi-institutional studies to estab- lish it as a standard of care in spinal dural repair.https://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2024.11.FOCUS24667

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E12-E12
JournalNeurosurgical focus
Volume58
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2025

Keywords

  • CSF leak
  • TachoSil
  • durotomy
  • intradural spine surgery
  • spine surgery

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Clinical Neurology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Use of TachoSil for durotomy repair in spine surgery: a single-center retrospective review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this