Study investigators found readmission rates did not increase when transforaminal endoscopic decompression procedures for lumbar foraminal and lateral recess stenosis were performed in outpatient settings, according to International Journal of Spine Surgery.
The study comprised 1,839 patients who on average underwent a follow up at 33 months postoperatively. The endoscopic surgery was performed at 2,076 levels between 2006 and 2015.
Here are three study findings:
1. Based on Macnab criteria, 82.2 percent of patients with extruded disc fragment had excellent and good results after the outpatient surgery.
2. Around 72.7 percent of patients with contained disc herniations had excellent and good results while 75 percent of spinal stenosis patients had good and excellent results following the outpatient transforaminal decompression.
3. Of the 1,839 patients, there were 26 acute care postoperative emergency room visits, with 16 resulting in hospital readmission.
"Transforaminal endoscopic decompression can be successfully carried out in an outpatient surgery center setting," study authors concluded. "Readmissions due to reherniations, postoperative complications or poor pain control are uncommon."