• Jae Baek, Azeem Tariq Malik, Inamullah Khan, Elizabeth Yu, Jeffery Kim, and Safdar N Khan.
• Department of Orthopaedics, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Nov 1; 131: e447-e453.

BackgroundLumbar fusions are routinely performed by either orthopedic or neurologic spine surgeons. Controversy still exists as to whether a provider's specialty (orthopedic vs. neurosurgery) influences outcomes.MethodsThe 2007-2015Q2 Humana Commercial Database was queried using Current Procedural Terminology codes (22612, 22614, 22630, 22632, 22633 and 22634) to identify patients undergoing elective 1-to-2 level posterior lumbar fusions (PLFs) with active enrollment up to 90 days after procedure. Ninety-day complication rates were calculated for the 2 specialties. The surgical and 90-day resource utilization costs for the 2 groups were compared, by studying average reimbursements for acute-care and post-acute-care categories. Ninety-day complications and costs were compared using multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses.ResultsA total of 10,509 patients (5523 orthopedic and 4986 neurosurgery) underwent an elective 1-to-2 level PLF during the period. With the exception of a significantly lower odds of wound complications (odds ratio, 0.81) and a higher odds of dural tears (odds ratio, 1.29) in elective PLFs performed by orthopedic surgeons, no statistically strong differences were seen in 90-day complication rates between the 2 groups. Total 90-day costs were also similar between orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, with the only exception being that surgeon reimbursement was lower for orthopedic surgery versus neurosurgery ($1202 vs. $1372; P < 0.001).ConclusionsIt seems that a provider's specialty does not largely influence 90-day surgical outcomes and costs after elective PLFs. The results of the study promote the formation and acceptance of dual training pathways for entry into spine surgery.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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