Anterior cervical disc replacement procedures are safe to perform in ASCs, according to a study published in Spine.
Researchers examined consecutive cervical artificial disc replacement data from 147 patients with a total of 231 treated levels. They documented a range of patient characteristics, discharge rates and complication rates.
What they found:
1. Physicians performed the following procedures: 71 single-level, 76 multilevel, 69 two-level, six three-level, and one four-level.
2. Average patient age was 50, none of the patients were insulin-dependent diabetics, four were current smokers, and 16 were former smokers. Average BMI was 26.8.
3. Researchers noted an average total anesthesia time of 88 minutes, with an average estimated blood loss of 15 milliliters.
4. About 90.3 percent of the patients were discharged to their homes, with 9.7 percent being discharged to an aftercare facility.
5. Concerning 90-day complication rates, there were no deaths and two hospital admissions — one for a complication and one for a surgical-site infection.
"We believe these procedures are safe to perform in an ASC," the researchers concluded. "An efficient surgical team and careful patient selection criteria are critical in making this possible."