RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Intraoperative Complications of Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A 5-Year Experience of a Group of Spine Surgeons Performing Their Own Approaches JF International Journal of Spine Surgery JO Int J Spine Surg FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery SP 714 OP 719 DO 10.14444/8299 VO 16 IS 4 A1 Carlos Alberto Lindado A1 Diego Armando Devia A1 Santiago Gutiérrez A1 Sergio Iván Patiño A1 Maria Isabel Ocampo A1 Miguel Enrique Berbeo A1 Roberto Carlos Diaz YR 2022 UL http://ijssurgery.com//content/16/4/714.abstract AB Background Spine surgery has evolved at an accelerated pace, allowing the development of more efficient surgical techniques while providing a decreasing rate of morbimortality. One example of these approaches is the anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical complication rate when performing ALIF without the help of a vascular “access” surgeon.Methods A retrospective descriptive study was conducted at the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio between 2014 and 2018 and included all patients who underwent ALIF during this time. A nonsystematic review was performed assessing approach-related complications in ALIF and the impact of “access” surgeons in surgical outcomes.Results A total of 337 patients were included and 508 levels were fused. ALIF was performed as ALIF-360° (27%), ALIF-lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) (8.9%), and stand-alone ALIF (62%). Most procedures were single-level fusions (51.9%), 45.4% involved 2 levels, and 2.6% were 3-level fusions. The mortality rate was 0%, and only 9 cases of vascular injury were observed and described. Left and common iliac veins were the predominant affected structures. Only a single case required blood transfusion without any other treatment or intensive care unit surveillance.Conclusions Our study is consistent with literature reports about ALIF complications, finding an incidence of 1.7%. Therefore, ALIF is an excellent alternative for spine procedures, especially for the levels L5-S1 that require sagittal balance restoration. The approaches were performed without a vascular “access” surgeon and presented complication rates similar to those described in the literature.