Morbidity and Mortality Following Posterior Lumbar Decompression in Octogenarians and Nonagenarians

Description

In this presentation, Prateek Saxena discusses the significant implications of an aging population, particularly focusing on elderly patients in the UK who undergo surgical interventions for lumbar canal stenosis. He outlines a retrospective analysis conducted on 166 patients aged over 80 who underwent posterior lumbar spinal decompression at the Royal Derby Spinal Unit from 2016 to 2020. The key findings include that 73% of patients showed clinical improvement at three months post-surgery, and there were low complication rates (less than 2%) observed, primarily related to neurological deficits or infections. Notably, no patients died within 30 days post-procedure; however, the one-year and two-year mortality rates were 0.6% and 1.2% respectively. Further analysis indicated that a high BMI (greater than 35) was linked to increased complications. The presentation concludes by affirming that lumbar decompression in elderly patients is generally a safe procedure with favorable outcomes, yet emphasizes the need for careful patient selection based on BMI to mitigate risks. The discussion ends with appreciation from the audience.

DOI: 10.1302/3114-221988

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