Autotransfusion by cell saver technique in surgery of lumbar and thoracic spinal fusion with instrumentation.

OBJECT: The authors used a modern cell saver technique to perform autotransfusion in patients undergoing instrument-assisted lumbar and/or thoracic spinal fusion, in whom significant blood loss was anticipated. The safety and benefits of this procedure as well as its cost effectiveness were analyzed.
METHODS: The authors studied 50 patients who underwent lumbar and/or thoracic spinal fusion in which instrumentation was placed between January 1998 and June 2000 and in whom an estimated blood loss of 500 ml or more was expected. All surgeries were conducted by a single neurosurgeon (D.R.S.). During surgery, the Brat 2 cell saver system was used to salvage the autologous blood. The anesthesiologist and surgeon jointly decided, on the basis of hematocrit and clinical stability, whether transfusion was necessary in each patient. Various parameters (hematocrit, plasma and urine hemoglobin, platelet counts, coagulation profile, and serum bilirubin) were measured pre-, intra-, and postoperatively. Thirty-three patients (66%) required transfusion. The mean blood loss in these patients was 1046 ml. The most important factor affecting blood loss was the number of levels fused (p < 0.0001). Only two patients required postoperative homologous transfusion. The mean decrease in hematocrit was 7.82%. The maximum reduction of platelet count was limited to 80,000/mm3. Major complications such as hemoglobinuria, coagulopathy, cardiopulmonary problems, air embolism, and major sepsis were not observed in this study.
CONCLUSIONS: Autotransfusion performed using a modern cell saver technique is safe and has many advantages over homologous transfusion. It conserves the homologous blood resources. The costs of the two modes are statistically comparable when greater than 500 ml of red blood cell transfusion is necessary.