Multilevel spinal fusion in the aged: not a panacea

The authors conducted a retrospective study on the outcome after multilevel spine fusion in elderly patients. Seventy-two out of 80 patients were available after a mean follow-up period of 29.4 months. There were 47 females and 25 males. Their mean age at operation was 68.7 years, which means that many complaints may have been due to an underlying osteoporosis, unresponsive to surgical treatment, and exposing to loosening of the implants. The outcome was indeed rather poor: only 50% of the patients were satisfied. VAS and ODI improved slightly, but not significantly. Implant loosening was the main complication: it occurred in 35 patients, but necessitated re-operation in only 8. Adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) occurred in 26 patients, and necessitated re-operation in 17. This study should be a warning against an interventionist attitude in older patients with so-called spondylosis, where osteoporosis should be excluded and, if present, should be treated as a first step.