Researchers studied the impact of herniated disc surgery on elderly patients, according to News-Medical Life Sciences.
Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology as well as Trondheim, Norway-based St. Olavs Hospital conducted the study, published in JAMA Surgery.
The study involved 381 patients over 65 years of age and 5,195 younger patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. Researchers compared patient-reported treatment outcomes, pulling data from the Norwegian quality register for spinal surgery.
Here are four insights:
1. Researchers found the older patients received as great a benefit form lumbar spine surgery as the younger patients.
2. The older patients saw greater improvement in their low back pain than the younger patients.
3. Younger patients experienced fewer non-serious complications (2.3 percent) compared to older patients (4.2 percent).
4. Researchers concluded age along should not impact surgical decision-making in this case.