Interventional pain management physicians performing sacroiliac joint fusions had no complications when supervised and trained by a spine surgeon and low complication rates without surgeon oversight, according to a study published in the November 2025 issue of The Spine Journal.
Four notes:
1. A prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial evaluated outcomes between 2020 and 2022. About 276 adult sacroiliac joint fusion patients were included.
2. The study had interventional pain physicians in two groups. One group of physicians had training and supervision by a spine surgeon, and the other didn’t have surgeon involvement. They used titanium screws plus a synthetic bioactive glass flowable biologics.
3. Patient complications, deviations and revisions were measured for at least 12 months. The spine surgeon-supervised group had no complications, deviations or revisions. The other group saw nine complications, four deviations and five revisions.
4. The study concluded, “Spine surgeon training equipped IPM physicians to safely performed percutaneous posterior-oblique SIJ fusions with titanium screws plus biologics, achieving low complication and revision rates. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating standardized surgeon-led training and certification programs to bridge the competency gap and ensure safe adoption of interventional spine surgery practices by IPM physicians.”
