Patients, Not Hospitals, Most Important to Spinal Fusion Outcomes

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 -- Individual patient characteristics -- not the quality of care provided by surgeons and hospitals -- account for most differences in spinal fusion surgery outcomes, according to a new study.

The study included 737 patients, average age 63, who had spinal fusion surgery at 17 U.S. hospitals between 2012 and 2018. Fifty-eight surgeons did the operations.