Complications After Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in Patients with Prior Abdominal Surgery

While complications after ALIF are not uncommon, prior studies have suggested a higher risk among patients with a history of abdominal surgery. While raw complication rates appear significantly higher in patients with prior abdominal surgery, these differences become nonsignificant once comorbidity burden is adjusted for. Our findings demonstrate that prior abdominal surgery itself does not independently increase postoperative complications, rather, patients with prior abdominal operations tend to have a greater comorbidity burden, which likely explains their higher unadjusted complication rates.