A new study published in The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine examines cost minimization in adult degenerative scoliosis treatment.
The researchers examined 71 patients with degenerative scoliosis who underwent minimally invasive or open two-stage, multilevel surgical correction. There were 38 patients who underwent the minimally invasive procedure and 33 patients who underwent the open procedure. The researchers calculated the hospital and rehabilitation charges.
Patients undergoing the minimally invasive procedure had 4.37 levels fused on average while those undergoing the open surgery reported 7.61 levels fused on average. The researchers found:
1. Total inpatient charges for the minimally invasive patients were lower at $269,807 on average, compared with $391,889 for the open group.
2. Outpatient rehabilitation charges were more similar between the two groups. Patients who underwent the minimally invasive procedure reported $41,072 on average, compared with $49,272 on average.
3. Patients undergoing the less invasive surgery reported a shorter hospital stay, at seven days, compared with 14.88 days for the open surgical procedure patients.
4. The estimated blood loss for the minimally invasive patients was 470 mL, compared with 2,872 mL for the open surgical group. The baseline ODI scores were also lower for the minimally invasive cohort, at 40 compared with 48.
5. The baseline VAS scores were similar between the two groups; the minimally invasive group reported 6.56 and the open group reported 7.1.however, the minimally invasive patients reported less reduction after one year.
6. The preoperative sagittal vertical axis was comparable between the two groups—at 63.47 mm for the minimally invasive group, compared with 71.3 mm for the open group. However, patients in the less invasive group had larger postoperative SVA.