Epidemiological trends in spine surgery over 10 years in a multicenter database

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Neurosurgery
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Limited epidemiological data exists on spinal surgery in Asia, particularly Japan.
• The impact of a superaging society on spinal surgery trends is not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review spinal surgeries performed between 2004 and 2015.
• To analyze the effects of Japan's superaging society on spinal surgery characteristics and trends.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 45,831 spinal surgeries.
• Data collected from a prospective multicenter database between 2004 and 2015.

Main Results:

• Significant increase in annual spine surgeries and mean patient age (54.6 to 63.7 years).
• Rise in degenerative diseases and osteoporotic vertebral fractures; decrease in rheumatic spondylosis.
• Increase in instrumentation surgery, including minimally invasive surgery (MIS), balloon kyphoplasty (BKP), and lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF).
• Reoperation rate remained stable (2.0%), but surgical site infection reoperations increased (0.9% to 1.5%).

Conclusions:

• Spine surgery volume, patient age, and degenerative disease treatment have markedly increased.
• Findings provide crucial indicators for future spine surgery planning and clinical practice in aging populations.
• Data supports the need for adapted strategies to manage spinal conditions in superaging societies.