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Unsolicited Patient Complaints in Spine Surgery: An In-Depth Study of How and Why They Occur
Harsh Jain1, Hani Chanbour1, Iyan Younus1
1Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Neurosurgery Practice
|July 11, 2026
Summary
Spine surgeons receive more patient complaints than other physicians, often related to communication issues before surgery. Addressing systemic issues and team collaboration is key to improving patient care and experience in spine surgery.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Spine surgery is a high-risk elective procedure associated with patient complaints.
- Analyzing unsolicited patient complaints (UPCs) can enhance care quality and patient experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare complaint rates among spine surgeons, other surgeons, and nonsurgeons.
- Categorize patient complaints in spine surgery.
- Determine if complaints are linked to surgeon-patient interactions.
Main Methods:
- Multi-institutional cross-sectional study (2014-2017) analyzing deidentified UPCs from neurosurgery/orthopedic spine teams.
- Complaints categorized by surgeon- or nonsurgeon-related factors (communication, professionalism, complications, infrastructure).
- Descriptive and bivariate statistical analyses performed.
Main Results:
- Spine surgeons had higher average UPCs (7.2) than non-spine surgeons (5.6) and nonsurgeons (3.3).
- Communication issues (64%) were most frequent, primarily lack of communication (63.2%), with attending surgeons involved in 70.5%.
- 42% of complaints were unrelated to direct surgeon-patient interactions, and 58% occurred preoperatively.
Conclusions:
- A significant portion of spine surgery complaints stem from communication and occur preoperatively, not always directly linked to surgeon-patient interactions.
- Nonsurgeon-related complaints involve hospital infrastructure, surgical decisions, and clinic inefficiencies.
- A collaborative healthcare team approach is essential to address systemic issues and improve spine surgery patient care.
