Complications of anterior approaches to the thoracolumbar spine. Emphasis on Kaneda instrumentation.

One hundred eighty five consecutive patients underwent anterior decompression, stabilization, and/or fusion procedures of the thoracolumbar spine. At 1 year or more followup, the incidence of complications was analyzed. There were no iatrogenic spinal neurologic deficits and no deep wound infections. The most common complication was in 13 patients who developed more than 20 kyphosis. The use of Kaneda anterior instrumentation provided marked improvement in the prevention of this problem. A custom made carbon fiber reinforced cage packed with autogenous cancellous bone graft used in the treatment of ten patients with large corpectomy defects resulted in a good outcome.