Time To Return to Work After Elective Lumbar Spine Surgery

Description

Supriya Singh, a Vancouver Spine fellow, presents research on the time to return to work after elective lumbar spine surgery at the Canadian Orthopedic Association (COA) conference. She highlights the lack of specific guidelines for surgeons regarding patient expectations post-surgery. The study investigates the return-to-work rates and identifies predictors of early return and non-return among Canadian patients undergoing single level discectomy, laminectomy, and fusion procedures. Based on data from over 2,000 eligible patients in the Canadian Spine Outcome and Research Network (CSORN) database, it was found that 61 days is the average time to return, with a 71% overall return rate. Key factors affecting early return included male gender, higher education, and not undergoing fusion surgery. The study concludes that most patients return to work within six to eight weeks after non-fusion procedures and within three months for fusion procedures. Supriya invites questions and discusses related research on workload intensity and surgeon recommendations.

Specialties