Patients deciding between MIS transforaminal lumbar fusion and open TLIF rarely know enough to make the decision on their own about which procedure to undergo and are heavily influenced by physician counseling, according to a study recently published in The Spine Journal.
Here are seven things to know:
1. The 54 patients participating in the study had a mean age of 55.8 years old. When asked about which procedure they'd like to undergo, patients responded:
- 24.1 percent of the patients consistently chose a single approach while 57.4 percent changed their selection once or more during the interviewing process.
- 22.2 percent of the patients had a different final decision than their initial choice.
- 27.8 percent of the patients were unable to decide.
2. Most — 65 percent — patients favored the open approach's midline incision until they heard about MIS, at which point the figure dropped to 16.7 percent of patients.
3. The number of patients favoring MIS dropped after they heard about both procedures' pros and cons, as well as conversion/revision surgery.
4. Radiation and cosmesis were the most important factors influencing patients' final decisions.
5. The open approach's longer midline incision is more appealing to patients than the MIS' paramedian stab wound.
6. Patients don't necessary value the MIS approach's advantages as much as surgeons do.
7. Since both methods have similar long-term outcomes, the researchers urged physicians to adequately educate patients and achieve the best consensus decision.
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