Imaging Assessment of the Postoperative Spine: An Updated Pictorial Review of Selected Complications.

Imaging of the postoperative spine requires the identification of several critical points by the radiologist to be written in the medical report: condition of the underlying cortical and cancellous bone, intervertebral disc, and musculoskeletal tissues; location and integrity of surgical implants; evaluation of the success of decompression procedures; delineation of fusion status; and identification of complications. This article presents a pictorial narrative review of the most common findings observed in and postoperative spines. Complications in the spine were grouped in (hematomas, pseudomeningocele, and postoperative spine infection) and findings (arachnoiditis, radiculitis, recurrent disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and textiloma).