In the field of spinal surgery, the advent of numerous minimally invasive techniques has facilitated the implementation of day surgery. In comparison to traditional inpatient surgery, daytime lumber surgery has the potential to markedly reduce hospital stays, while also lowering medical expenses and enhancing patients’ surgical experiences and recovery rates.
Shuo Wang et al conducted a study to explore the potential of daytime surgery in enhancing surgical efficiency and improving patient rehabilitation quality in lumbar spine diseases.
The authors retrieved clinical data from the shared database of orthopedic cases, which contains a total of 5,793 cases. Among them, 2,592 cases involve lumbar spine diseases, with some of these patients having undergone daytime percutaneous endoscopic surgery for Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) or lumbar spinal stenosis by the same team. Match these with hospitalized patients at a 1:2 ratio. A total of 478 patients were recruited, of which 164 underwent daytime surgery and 314 underwent inpatient surgery. All patients were followed with 2 years; a set of clinical outcomes were extracted and analyzed.
The key findings of the study were:
• Compared to the inpatient surgery group, the day surgery group demonstrated significantly reduced hospitalization duration and costs (P < 0.05). However, the incidence of worsened symptoms after discharge was significantly lower in the PEID-A group compared to the PEID-D group (P < 0.05).
• Compared to hospitalized surgical patients, there is no significant difference in the recurrence rate among day surgery patients (P > 0.05).
The authors concluded - “The therapeutic effectiveness and radiological improvement achieved through daytime percutaneous endoscopic treatment for lumbar spine diseases can yield satisfactory outcomes. However, there remains ample opportunity for enhancing patient selection, preoperative preparation, postoperative medication protocols, discharge guidance, and rehabilitation treatments. Furthermore, it is essential to consider the development of policies pertaining to day surgery in hospitals and operating rooms. This will facilitate the advancement of day surgery, enhance surgical efficacy, and minimize complications.”
Further reading:
Percutaneous endoscopic treatment for lumbar disorders as day surgery: A-2-Year Follow-Up retrospective cohort study
Shuo Wang et al
European Spine Journal (2025) 34:5747–5756
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-025-09084-5
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