Surgical experience in this country over the last few decades indicates that abdominal injuries caused accidentally by the perforation of the interbody joints by instruments during the removal of disc substance contribute heavily to the formidable over-all risk inherent in lumbar-disc surgery. Therefore, avoiding these accidents by all possible means is of paramount importance.
Prevention can be achieved best by the application of sound surgical practice; however, it is imperative to re-emphasize that injuries to vital structures anterior to the discs have happened accidentally with incredible ease in the hands of skillful and competent surgeons. If one of these complications occurs, the surgeon should be prepared to meet it with the most effective measures possible.