The patient's perspective on complications after spine surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Neurosurgery
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Spine surgery outcome assessment has shifted to patient-centered methods.
• Complication assessment in spine surgery has lagged behind, often remaining surgeon-centric.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate post-surgical complications from the patient's perspective in spine surgery.
• To determine the association between patient-reported complications and overall surgical satisfaction and outcome.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving German-speaking patients undergoing spine surgery in 2005.
• Patients completed the SSE Spine Tango registry questionnaires pre- and 12-months post-surgery.
• Surgeons also completed Spine Tango surgery forms; patient-reported complications were queried at 12 months.

Main Results:

• 972 out of 1,035 (94%) patients returned the 12-month questionnaire.
• 29% of patients reported experiencing post-surgical complications.
• Patient-rated complications were significantly associated with lower satisfaction and poorer perceived outcome (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Complications in spine surgery should be assessed from both patient and surgeon perspectives.
• Patient-reported complications are crucial for understanding dissatisfaction and poor outcomes.
• Integrating patient-centered complication reporting enhances the comprehensive evaluation of spine surgery.