Incidence and treatment of delayed symptoms of CSF leak following lumbar spinal surgery

Purpose Dural tear (DT) resulting in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is a common complication of spinal surgery. Most cases of DT are recognised and addressed intraoperatively; however, a small percentage of cases may present at a later stage with delayed symptoms of CSF leak, either due to an unrecognised intraoperative DT or as a result of a de novo delayed DT. Apart from few reports describing delayed symptomatic CSF leaks, most studies tend not to separate intraoperatively recognised DTs from delayed symptomatic CSF leaks. To our knowledge, there are no long-term studies describing specifically the incidence and management of this complication. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of late presentation of dural tear (LPDT) following lumbar spinal surgery, its treatment, associated complications and clinical outcomes from long-term follow-up in a consecutive series of patients.