A study published in the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques examined the feasibility of outpatient instrumented transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.
Surgeries were performed either in the ambulatory surgery center setting or hospital outpatient department and researchers recorded complications that occurred from the moment of discharge up to six months postoperatively. Researchers found no cases of pneumonia, urinary tract infection or thromboembolic complications.
Additional findings include:
• Four of the 27 patients who underwent the procedure at ASCs had complications within seven days postoperatively compared with one of the 25 patients who underwent the procedure in the hospital outpatient department. The difference was not statistically significant.
• Back pain significantly decreased postoperatively.
• Leg pain decreased from 54.2 on a scale of 60 preoperatively to 9.1 postoperatively.
The researchers, led by Alan T. Villavicencio, MD, recommended continuing to discuss the possibility of performing instrumented TLIF on an outpatient basis and called for additional confirmation of study results.
More Articles on Spine Surgery:
8 Leadership Tactics for Effective Spine Center Leaders
13 Strategies for Spine Surgeons to Improve Clinic Efficiency
The Cost of BMP-Related Complications: One Spine Surgeon Adds It Up