Outpatient Spine

The development of spine technology has increasingly pushed procedures to ASCs, and many spine leaders expect the trend to continue.

Surgeons and ASCs in Oregon, California, North Carolina, Washington and Louisiana reached spine surgery milestones since March 1.

The most common complications after spine surgery at ASCs are gastrointestinal, with vascular being the most infrequent, according to a study published in Clinical Spine Surgery in April.

Orthopedic procedures have increasingly shifted to the ASC setting in the last 10 years as technology and patient education advance. 

Northbank Surgical Center, a Surgical Care Affiliates' center in Salem, Ore., performed its first spine surgery using the StealthStation S8 navigation system, SCA said April 5. 

Robotic technology is growing among spine surgeons, and fellows are learning to use the technology for more precise outcomes. But if they become too reliant on robotics for spine surgery, the transition to outpatient surgery centers could be problematic.

Just over two years ago, nearly every kind of medical appointment meant a patient had to physically go to the provider's facility.

There are more than 3,500 orthopedic ASCs in the U.S., according to 2021 CMS figures, but many of them do not offer spine surgery.  Here are 10 that do:

As spinal procedures become more minimally invasive, they're increasingly migrated to the outpatient setting.

Todd Lanman, MD, became the first spine surgeon in the U.S. to reverse a patient's lumbar spinal fusion and return them to full motion by implanting an artificial disc, according to a March 25 news release.