Risk Factors Associated with Reconstructive Complications Following Sacrectomy

BACKGROUND: Sacral pathology requiring partial or total sacrectomy is rare, and reconstructing the ensuing defects requires careful decision-making to minimize morbidity. The purpose of this study was to review the experience of a single institution with reconstructing large sacral defects, to identify risk factors for suboptimal outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients who underwent sacrectomy over a 10-year period. Univariate analysis of differences in risk factors between patients with and without various postoperative complications was performed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictive variables. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were identified. The most common diagnosis leading to sacrectomy was chordoma (39%). Total sacrectomy was performed on 4 patients, whereas 24 patients underwent partial resection. Reconstructive modalities included 15 gluteal advancement flaps, 4 pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flaps, and 9 paraspinous muscle or other flap types. There was an overall complication rate of 57.1% (n = 12) and a 28.6% (n = 8) incidence of major complications. There were significantly more flap-related complications in patients who underwent total sacrectomy (P = 0.02). Large defect size resulted in significantly more unplanned returns to the operating room (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Consistent with other published series', the overall complication rate exceeded 50%. Defect volume and sacrectomy type were the strongest predictors of postoperative complications and return to the operating room, while reconstructive strategy showed limited power to predict patient outcomes. We recommend that patients anticipated to have large sacral defects should be appropriately counseled regarding the incidence of wound complications, regardless of reconstructive approach.