Safety In Spine Surgery
The importance of providing a safe environment for patients has taken on new meaning in the era of COVID-19. And, while I have previously written extensively on safety in spine surgery, the process and procedures become even more crucial to providing reproducibly good surgical outcomes for patients, with low complication rates.
I have been fortunate to serve as chairman of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery. As such, I participate in a multi-specialty collaborative effort to provide safe environments for patients as they require and receive spine interventions.
Based on my meetings in this role, as well as several discussions with other surgeons and my own experience in surgery since COVID-19, I’ve created a list of key questions patients should ask their spine providers, or really any surgeon, prior to considering surgery:
What processes do you have in place to ensure a safe environment for my surgery?
How many cases do you typically perform per month in an outpatient setting?
Have you published or presented your outpatient spine surgical data – successes versus complications and surgical revisions?
What are your infection rates?
What is your return to surgery (within 30 days) rate?
Asking these questions serve as a straightforward checklist built for all patients. And it will help to distinguish between a surgeon who is really a marketing ad campaign and choosing the best and safest surgeon for your care.