Schoell K, et al. - In this retrospective database study from January 2007 to June 2015, researchers evaluated the risk factors and rates of neurological complications in outpatients experiencing ordinarily performed lumbar spine surgeries. Following lumbar spine surgery, they observed dural tear rate of 2.87%, damage to the nervous tissue of 1.47%, cauda equina syndrome of 0.75%, neurogenic bowel or bladder of 0.45%, and failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) of 15.05%. They recorded the highest incidence of complications for candidates undergoing multilevel procedures and posterior fusion. They observed depression as an important risk factor for FBSS, damage to nervous tissue, and dural tear. But they noticed no influence on the risk of cauda equina syndrome or neurogenic bowel or bladder. An association of increased age with higher rates of dural tear and damage to nervous tissue was also recorded.