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Abstract Summaries
Abstract One

This paper evaluates the safety, surgical complications and patient satisfaction of outpatient minimally invasive spine surgery performed at Laser Spine Institute (LSI) in Tampa, Florida. A total of 1,690 consecutive minimally invasive outpatient procedures performed from August through December 2008 at the Tampa surgical center were evaluated. Out of these procedures, 80.6% of them were endoscopic laminotomies and foraminotomies. The remaining 19.4% of the procedures included plasma disc decompression, percutaneous laser decompression, thermal facet ablation and hardware removal. A retrospective chart review was performed and complications as well as patient satisfaction ratings were reported. In terms of complications, this study reports that LSI’s infection rate is less than 0.2%. This is in strong contrast to the 4.0% reported industry average. Impressively, this dramatically low infection rate is kept while maintaining high levels of patient service. For example, in response to the patient satisfaction survey question, “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rank your overall experience at this facility?”, 82.2% gave an excellent score, which was defined as either a 9 or 10. In response to the patient satisfaction survey question, “Would you recommend this facility to a friend or family member?”, 99.75% stated that they would recommend the facility. It has been concluded that minimally invasive spine surgery can be safely and successfully performed in an outpatient setting while maintaining the highest levels of patient satisfaction. Citation

Abstracts Two and Three

Introduction

These papers analyze the safety and success of minimally invasive endoscopic cervical and lumbar laminotomy and foraminotomy decompression procedures performed on an outpatient basis at Laser Spine Institute (LSI) in Tampa, Florida. A retrospective chart review including a 6 week, 12 week, 6 month and 12 month patient follow‐up was performed. In addition, complications and return to work/daily activities were reported. Cervical Summary

A total of 105 consecutive outpatient endoscopic cervical laminotmy and foraminotmy decompression procedures were performed from October 2007 through January 2008 at the Tampa surgical center were evaluated. Of the 105 patients in this study, a total of 87 patients (82.9%) completed an in house pre‐operative questionnaire or completed a 6 week, 12 week, 6 month or 12 month questionnaire by phone or mail. Of the 105 procedures performed, there were no mortalities, code blues, medication errors, hospital admissions, or infections. Two of the 105 patients, representing less than 2%, had a dura leak, but neither required a return to surgery. The average blood loss was 32.1cc, and the average operative room time was 84.2 minutes.

Lumbar Summary

A total of 644 consecutive outpatient endoscopic lumbar laminotmy and foraminotmy decompression procedures were performed from October 2007 through January 2008 at the Tampa surgical center were evaluated. Only patients with previous lumbar spine surgery were excluded from this data set, leaving 402 patients. Of the 402 patients in this study, a total of 312 patients (77.6%) completed either the in‐house pre‐operative questionnaire or completed a 6 week, 12 week, 6 month or 12 month questionnaire by phone or mail. Of the 402 procedures performed, there were no mortalities or hospital admissions, less than 2% of patients experienced a dura leak, and 1 patient had a perioperative infection. The average blood loss was 29.9cc, and the average operative room time was 85.4 minutes.  Cervical and Lumbar Metrics

The following self‐reported outcome metrics were measured in the studies:


 * 1) The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), which measures pain
 * 2) The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), which measures spine disability
 * 3) The Short Form–36 (SF36), which measures general quality of life and
 * 4) Return to work and return to daily activities status.

In both studies, the results conclude that patients reported significant decreases in their pain and spine disability metrics while their overall quality of life metrics drastically appreciated over time. In addition, the studies show that within 6 weeks of LSI surgery, 80% of both cervical and lumbar patients returned to their daily activities. It has been concluded that endoscopic laminotomy and foraminotomy decompression of the cervical and lumbar spine can be safely and successfully performed in an outpatient setting.

Citations