Despite a higher rate of complications than in the general population, overall outcomes of lumbar spine surgery in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson disease are favorable, with significant improvements in spine-related pain and function. So concludes a study by Schroeder et al. in the October 21, 2015 Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Improvements were seen in surgeries with and without instrumentation over an average follow-up of more than two years.
Among the 20 of 96 patients in the study who required revision surgery, risk factors for revision included a Parkinson disease severity of ≥3 on the modified Hoehn and Yahr scale, a history of diabetes mellitus, treatment for osteoporosis, and a combined anterior/posterior surgical approach (which was used in 22 of 63 patients who underwent instrumented fusions).
