In the last 20 years, due to diagnostic and surgical advances, more and more patients have become appropriate candidates for spine surgery, and the number of these procedures performed has risen significantly. While medical experts acknowledge the potential benefits of spine surgery, they also understand that complications can reduce the success in the short and long term.
"Complications following spine surgery may have a substantial impact on the quality of life of patients as well as the outcome of the primary surgical procedure," said orthopaedic surgeon Andrew J. Schoenfeld, M.D., one of the authors of a new study recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). This study identified several risk factors for a variety of complications and death shortly after spine surgery among men and women across the U.S.
Relatively few studies have explored the impact of factors such as comorbid medical conditions (simultaneously and usually independently existing health problems, including diabetes and cardiovascular conditions), age, body mass index (BMI), and gender on the risk of complications following spine surgery. Most research to date has focused exclusively on wound infection, and few studies have explored other possible complications and death.
"At the present time, the results of this study may represent some of the best available evidence regarding risk factors for complications and mortality following spine surgery," said Dr. Schoenfeld.
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