A new study published in Clinical Spine Surgery compares outcomes for orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons for various spine procedures.
The study authors analyzed 197,682 patients who underwent lumbar laminectomies, lumbar fusions or anterior cervical discectomy and fusion from 2006 to 2010. They gathered data from a large claims database and examined the readmissions, revision surgery rates and intermediary payments made, comparing the data between orthopedic spine and neurospine surgeons.
Study authors found:
1. Surgical complications, readmissions and revision procedures were similar between both neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons. However, broken down further, patients who underwent spinal fusion performed by a neurosurgeon had higher odds of complications.
2. Lumbar laminectomy with fusion and ACDF patients had higher revision rates with neurosurgeons compared to orthopedic spine surgeons.
3. The study authors didn't find an association between the type of surgeon and 30-day all-cause readmissions.
4. Median intermediary payments were higher for patients who underwent procedures performed by neurosurgeons than orthopedic spine surgeons for all three procedures examined.
5. Study authors concluded the variations in outcomes and pay between orthopedic spine and neurosurgeons were "small and unlikely to be clinically meaningful."