http://www.spineuniverse.com/resource-center/bpa/spine-surgery-patient-satisfaction

Spine Surgery and Patient Satisfaction

Patients who participated in the Chronic Back Pain in America 2013 Surveyindicated that spine surgery was most commonly performed in a hospital operating room (91%). Nine-percent revealed they underwent an outpatient spinal procedure. Presented here are additional survey results that include surgical (during and/or after) complications, type and severity of post-operative pain, days hospitalized, where and when rehab started, and patient satisfaction with their spine surgery.

Complications During and/or After Spine Surgery

Complications	Cervical (n=81)	Thoracic (n=21)	Lumbar/ Sacral (n=205)
Bleeding	6%	10%	11%
Infection	7%	14%	9%
Difficulty swallowing	39%	5%	2%
Difficulty speaking	25%	0%	1%
Nerve damage	32%	29%	29%
Spinal cord injury	4%	9%	1%
Anesthesia reaction	9%	5%	9%

Post-operative Pain

Pain Descriptions	(n=250)
None/very mild	5%
Minor	4%
Tolerable	12%
Strong	13%
Piercing	9%
Intense	14%
Very intense	10%
Extremely intense	12%
Excruciating	11%
Worst imaginable	10%

Time Hospitalized

• 15% = < 24 hours
• 12% = 1 day
• 12% = 2 days
• 21% = 3 days
• 12% = 4 days
• 27% = > 4 days

Where and when post-operative rehabilitation/physical therapy started

• 22% = in hospital day after surgery
•   8% = in hospital 2 days post-op
• 12% = in hospital 3 days post-op
• 23% = discharged for in-home therapy
• 30% = discharged for outpatient therapy
•   6% = discharged to a rehab facility for post-op therapy

Patient Satisfaction with Surgical Outcome (n=250)

• 37% satisfied
• 56% not satisfied
•   7% indicated it was too early to tell