Becker's Spine Review

36 OUTPATIENT SURGERY Outpatient transforaminal decompression after spine surgery safe & effective, study finds By Mackenzie Garrity A study in the International Journal of Spine Surgery researched the effectiveness of outpatient transforaminal decompres- sion as an alternative to inpatient revision decompression procedures. e study comprised 48 patients who underwent endoscopic transfo- raminal and lateral decompression for both persistent and recurrent leg and/or back pain aer a previous lumbar laminectomy — 22 pa- tients — or decompression fusion — 26 patients. Here are four study findings: 1. e mean visual analog scale score dropped from 7.7 ± 1.8 preoper- atively to 2.3 ± 1.1 with 79.1 percent of patients reporting "excellent" and "good" results based on Macnab criteria. 2. Postoperative complications were rare and limited to dorsal root ganglion irritation, which occurred in 25 percent of patients. 3. Patients who reported "excellent" or "good" results were able to re- turn to work quicker aer endoscopic outpatient surgery compared to the initial inpatient open spinal surgery. 4. Direct costs were 40.6 percent lower and indirect costs were 37.1 percent lower with the secondary endoscopic surgery compared with the primary spine surgery. "[Transforaminal decompression] can be safely done in an outpatient setting, while realizing savings in direct and indirect costs," study au- thors concluded. n Ohio surgeons to open orthopedic surgery center By Angie Stewart A kron, Ohio-based The Orthopaedic Surgery Center is constructing a bigger, $7 million facility in Boardman, Ohio, The Vindica- tor reports. What you should know: 1. The groundbreaking is scheduled for Jan. 23. The nearly 13,000-square-foot facility will sit on 8.6 acres. 2. It will feature four operating rooms and three overnight suites. 3. The Orthopaedic Surgery Center's physicians traveled around the country to learn from other out- patient surgery practices. 4. Led by Vice President Thomas Joseph, MD, center physicians specialize in hand, foot and ankle surger- ies, shoulder and knee replacements, arthroscopic surgery and pain management. 5. The practice opened in 2003 and launched the area's first outpatient joint replacement program in January 2015. "Lower cost and high-quality care equals responsi- ble medicine. It is about doing the right thing," Dr. Joseph told The Vindicator. n First ASC in the Southeast to purchase Mazor robot for spine surgery By Rachel Popa B aptist Medical Park Surgery Center, an ASC located in Pensacola, Fla., is the first surgery center in the Southeast to purchase Mazor Robotics' Renaissance System. Here are the key details to know: 1. The ASC recently completed its first sacroiliac joint fusion pro- cedure with the robotic system. 2. Mark Giovanini, MD, a surgeon who is using the Mazor Ro- botics' Renaissance System for all SI fusion procedures, said the technology provides patients with the full advantages of spinal surgery with the convenience of an outpatient facility. "This technology enhances my ability to complete complex pro- cedures with the industry's most minimally invasive techniques, which has always been the core value at NeuroMicroSpine," Dr. Giovanini said. 3. "We acknowledge Baptist Health Care and Baptist Medical Park Surgery Center for their commitment to a robotic spine surgery program. Mazor believes that with Baptist Medical Park Surgery Center being one of the first outpatient facilities in the Southeast U.S. to offer outpatient Mazor Robotics procedures, more patients may benefit from Renaissance technology for spine procedures," said Christopher Prentice, chief commercial officer of Mazor Robotics in a release. n

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