Guidelines in Post-Op Care

[Harrison]

We’ve come so far, yet there is so much work to do! For those of you that have read the posts during the last two years, this will not be surprising.

Below, is my creative summary of this article (May 2006) from two perspectives:

1. Negative: Post-op care for spine surgery patients (ADR patients moreso) is still a grossly neglected phenomenon.

2. Positive: Patients, please tell us – and the world – what is making your recovery smooth and event-free. You are still a pioneer in your choice of spinal treatment, so your post-op "best practices" will serve and help many, many people!

More later on this perennial topic.
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National audit of post-operative management in spinal surgery
Alison H McGregor, #1 Ben Dicken,#1 and Konrad Jamrozik#2
1Biosurgery & Surgical Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK
2School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Australia

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1481518

In summary, the optimal post-operative management of patients undergoing spinal surgery may make a significant contribution to improving the long-term outcome of these operations. The evidence presently available from the literature suggests that routine post-operative rehabilitation should form part of such efforts, but the trials of this strategy that have been completed suffer from a number of deficiencies.

The basis for restrictions on particular activities in the post-operative period, and especially the recommended periods over which patients should observe such restrictions, is even less clear. At the same time, demonstrable inconsistencies within and between these aspects of different surgeons' practice can be interpreted as evidence of continuing and significant uncertainty across the sub-speciality as to what does constitute best care in these areas of management.

Expanding the survey population or increasing the response to the current survey would only highlight this uncertainty further. Conducting further large, rigorous, randomised controlled trials would be the best method for obtaining definitive answers to these questions.
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