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Standardized reporting of adverse events after microvascular decompression of cranial nerves; a population-based single-institution consecutive series

  • Clinical Article - Functional
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Abstract

Objective

To investigate frequencies of adverse events occurring within 30 days after microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery using a standardized report form of adverse events.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of 98 adult patients (≥16 years) treated with MVD between 1 January 1994 and 1 June 2013. Adverse events occurring within 30 days were classified according to the Landriel Ibanez classification for neurosurgical complications: grade I represents any non-life threatening complication treated without invasive procedures; grade II is complications requiring invasive management; grade III is life-threatening adverse events requiring treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU); grade IV is death as a result of complications. We sought to compare our results with reports from the literature.

Results

Patients’ median age was 61 years (range 26–83), and 64 (65 %) were females. Indications for MVD were trigeminal neuralgia (n = 77, 79 %), glossopharyngeal neuralgia (n = 4, 4 %), hemifacial spasm (n = 16, 16 %) and combined trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm (n = 1, 1 %). The overall 30-day complication rate was 20 %, with 14 % grade I complications, 5 % grade II complications and 1 % grade III complications. The comparison with the literature was hampered by the diverse and unsystematic way of reporting complications.

Conclusion

We provide a standardized report of postoperative complications in a consecutive patient series undergoing MVD. Due to the heterogeneous and non-standardized reporting of complications in the literature, it is difficult to know if our 20 % complication rate is low or high. Standardized reporting is a necessity for meaningful and more valid comparisons across studies. The safety of MVD, a fairly standardized neurosurgical procedure, is well suited for comparisons across centers provided that complications are reported in a standardized manner.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section for Neurosurgery, Karolinska Institutet and Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Jiri Bartek Jr. & Petter Förander

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jiri Bartek Jr.

  3. Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Sasha Gulati, Geirmund Unsgård, Clemens Weber & Ole Solheim

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, St.Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Sasha Gulati, Geirmund Unsgård, Ole Solheim & Asgeir S. Jakola

  5. Department of Neurosurgery, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway

    Clemens Weber

  6. Department of Neurosurgery, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Asgeir S. Jakola

  7. Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Asgeir S. Jakola

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  1. Jiri Bartek Jr.
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Correspondence to Jiri Bartek Jr..

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No funding was received for this research.

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Ethical considerations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study formal consent is not required.

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Bartek, J., Gulati, S., Unsgård, G. et al. Standardized reporting of adverse events after microvascular decompression of cranial nerves; a population-based single-institution consecutive series. Acta Neurochir 158, 1775–1781 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2856-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2856-7

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