Study Questions Lumbar Fusion Outcomes
A retrospective population-based cohort study published in Spine today found that among 1,950 workers who underwent lumbar fusion between 1994 and 2001, overall disability rate at 2 years after fusion was 63.9%, reoperation rate 22.1%, and rate for other complications 11.8%. The authors of the study conclude that “use of cages or instrumentation was associated with increased complication risk compared with bone-only fusions without improving disability or reoperation rates.”
The Los Angeles Times states that more than 150,000 Americans undergo spinal fusion for lower back pain each year. Lombar fusion does not necessarily involve spinal cages, but the procedure became popular after 1996 when the devices where introduced. Last month, researchers from the Darthmouth Medical School pointed to the strong gronth in the number of lumbar fusion this last decade accompanied by 500 percent cost inflation (their work was published in Spine too).
However, Dr. James Wang, a spinal surgeon at UCLA and a consultant to three spinal surgery device manufacturers told the LA Times that workers’ compensation patients generally seem to do worse in studies than other patients which might limit how much you can apply the aforementioned study’s conclusion to the general population.
November 1, 2006 Related topics: Surgery