Figure 1

Case example of wrong level spine surgery. Sagittal reformatted CT scan of the lumbar spine; this patient came to our attention after having performed an ‘interspinous stabilization L4-5’ elsewhere, as reported in medical discharging chart; soon after surgery her bilateral claudicatio radicolaris started to worsen. A. the preoperative study clearly shows the DIAM^® interspinous device applied at the L3-4 interspinous space (wrong). B. in the postoperative image the COFLEX^® device correctly inserted at L4-5 is visualized; the DIAM^® at L3-4 was intentionally left in place to avoid late compromise of segmental stability.