Outpatient spine surgery continues to be safe and effective for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. A study in the International Journal of Spine Surgery tested the safety and efficiency of one-level and two-level cervical disc arthroplasty in an ambulatory surgery center compared to a hospital setting.
The study comprised 145 ASC patients, 348 hospital outpatients and 65 hospital inpatients. Patients were evaluated on surgery time, blood loss, return to work, adverse events and subsequent surgeries.
Here are five study findings:
1. More two-level CDA surgeries were performed in a hospital than an ASC.
2. Surgery time was significant reduced when performed in an ASC compared to an outpatient or inpatient setting.
3. Blood loss decreased when CDA surgeries were performed in an ASC versus an outpatient hospital or inpatient hospital setting.
4. Patients who underwent surgery in an ASC reported no hospital admissions and no subsequent surgeries.
5. Patients in both groups returned to work after a similar number of days off. However, the number of patients in the ASC group who returned to work by the end of the 90-day postoperative period was fewer.