Return to work after adult spinal deformity surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Spine Surgery
• Rehabilitation

Background:

• Adult spinal deformity (ASD) significantly impacts patient quality of life and functional status.
• Return to work is a critical outcome measure following surgical intervention for ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the proportion of patients returning to work at various time points after ASD surgery.
• To investigate the association between surgical invasiveness and the time required for return to work.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter database of 188 employed patients with ASD who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2015 was analyzed.
• Patients were categorized into high-invasiveness (HI) and low-invasiveness (LI) surgery groups based on the ASD-Surgical and Radiographical Invasiveness Index (ASD-SR).
• Full-time work was defined as self-reporting >=75% normal work/school activity.

Main Results:

• Postoperatively, 15% of patients returned to full-time work at 6 weeks, increasing to 70% at 6 months, 83% at 1 year, and 84% at 2 years.
• The proportion of patients working full-time at 2 years (84%) was significantly higher than preoperatively (p < .001).
• Return to full-time work at 6 weeks was lower in the HI group (5%) compared to the LI group (19%) (p = .03).

Conclusions:

• The majority of adults achieve full-time employment after ASD surgery.
• While HI surgery was associated with a temporary delay in return to work at 6 weeks, this difference was not significant at later follow-up points.
• Preoperatively employed patients have a high likelihood of returning to full-time employment post-ASD surgery.