Anterior cervical discectomy and fusions are safe in the outpatient setting for properly selected patients, according to new research from the New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.
Researchers studied 103 patients, 57 of which had outpatient surgery and 46 of which had a hospital stay. The patients undergoing outpatient surgery were typically younger, with the average age being 52 years old, compared to the average age of the entire group, which was 57 years old. Early outcomes were compared between the inpatient and outpatient groups.
The key details to know:
1. Outpatient surgery was more common when surgeons removed fewer discs . Outpatients had shorter operative times.
2. There wasn't a difference in postoperative pain between the two groups.
3. However, both groups reported improvement in pain and function six months following surgery.
"In our study, the surgical setting did not impact patient-reported outcomes. The results suggest that multi-level ACDF can be performed safely in the outpatient setting without an increased risk of complications in appropriately selected patients," said Hospital for Special Surgery surgeon Sheeraz Qureshi, MD. "Specifically, the patient's age, additional health conditions and number of levels being fused should be taken into consideration when deciding whether to perform multi-level ACDF in an outpatient setting."