Patients avoiding surgery. Pathology and one-year life status follow-up

Patients were selected for a research study to determine the outcome of patients who had demonstrated enough pathology to have been viewed as surgical candidates and had chosen to avoid surgery. The purpose of the study was to identify the diagnostic categories and to obtain follow-up data on these patients. The patient population consisted of 66 patients with the following pathologies: disc disruption (one and two levels), disc disruption (three levels), stenosis, spondylolisthesis, instability, and herniated nucleus pulposus. The patients were followed for a period of 1 1/2 years and rated on the following lifestyle status categories: Returned to Work, Retired, Retraining, Able to Increase Activity Level, or No Change from Initial Status. Of the nonoperative patients, 18% returned to work. Twelve patients (18%) were retired. Eleven patients (16%) were placed in retraining programs. Twenty patients (29%) were able to increase activity level. Eleven patients (16%) fell under the category of no change.