A survey of 445 spine surgeons in the United States examines the difference in treatment for patients with recurrent lumbar disc herniation and published the findings in The Spine Journal.
The researchers found:
1. Surgeons who were in practice 15 or more years were more likely to select revision microdiscectomy.
2. Surgeons who had fewer than 15 years of practice were more likely to select revision microdiscectomy with PLIF/TLIF.
3. Surgeons who performed more than 200 surgeries per year were more likely to select revision microdiscectomy with PLIF/TLIF than those with fewer surgeries.
4. There was a 69 percent probability that two randomly selected spine surgeons would disagree on how to treat two-time recurrent disc herniation.
5. There was a 22 percent probability that two randomly selected spine surgeons would disagree on how to treat one-time recurrent disc herniation.
There were no significant differences for region of the country, specialty, fellowship training or practice type.
More Articles on Spine Surgery:
Grow Spine Practice Patient Volume: 8 Key Tactics to Thrive in Today's Healthcare Environment
5 Spine Surgeons Discuss Spine Surgery Trend in 2014
Total Spinal Disc Replacement: 6 Findings on 5-10 Year Outcomes