Cervical total disc replacement is safe to perform in the outpatient setting, according to new research published in Spine.
Researchers studied patients in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who had undergone cervical total disc replacement from 2005 to 2016. A total of 373 outpatient and 1,612 inpatient procedures were studied, and researchers compared 30-day perioperative complications and readmissions between the two groups.
Key study details:
1. There was not a significant difference in complications between the two groups.
2. There was not a significant difference in readmissions or perioperative adverse events between the two groups.
3. Researchers concluded, "The perioperative outcomes evaluated in the current study support the conclusion that, for appropriately selected patients, single-level [cervical total disc replacement] can be safely performed in the outpatient setting without increased rates of 30-day perioperative complications or readmissions compared with inpatient [cervical total disc replacement] or outpatient single-level [anterior cervical discectomy and fusion]."