A study, published in Neurosurgery, examined 1,449 outpatient spine surgeries, with 1,073 lumbar and 376 cervical spine procedures. Researchers found:
1. Fifty-one minor and major complications were recorded in 51 patients, but only three patients needed to be admitted to the hospital the same day of surgery. Twenty-two patients were admitted to a hospital within three months due to surgery-related events.
2. No surgical deaths were reported and all life-threatening hematomas were discovered within six hours following cervical surgery and three hours after lumbar spine surgery.
3. Researched detected the following complications:
• Postoperative hematoma – 0.6 percent
• Neurological deterioration – 0.3 percent
• Deep wound infection – 0.9 percent
• Dural lesions with cerebrospinal fluid leakage – 1.0 percent
• Persistent dysphagia – 0.1 percent
• Persistent hoarseness 0.1 percent
• Severe pain/headache – 0.4 percent
4. In all, 99.8 percent of all patients were discharged on the same day of surgery. Researchers concluded, “The overall complication rate was 3.5 percent, surgical mortality was 0 percent and only 1.5 percent had to be admitted to the hospital within three months after surgery. The study adds to the large collection of research supported outpatient spine surgery.
More articles on outpatient spine:
3 things to know about lateral lumbar interbody fusion in ASCs
7 outpatient spine stories — Dec. 12, 2017
ASC market to reach $108.5B by 2016: 3 things to know
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