Spinal Disease

Surgical Complications

Surgical Site Infection Rates for Spinal Surgery (N = 2998)

2018 to Q2 2020

A multiyear effort in the Spine Center to reduce complications continues to center around reducing surgical site infections. Efforts have included nasal swab surveillance, nasal decolonization protocol (when indicated), changing rules for operating theater traffic, updating rules about operating table preparation, changing the perioperative scrub protocol, and new wound closure advisories.¹⁻²

References
  1. Smith JS, Shaffrey CI, Sansur CA, Berven SH, Fu KM, Broadstone PA, Choma TJ, Goytan MJ, Noordeen HH, Knapp DR Jr, Hart RA, Donaldson WF 3rd, Polly DW Jr, Perra JH, Boachie-Adjei O; Scoliosis Research Society Morbidity and Mortality Committee. Rates of infection after spine surgery based on 108,419 procedures: a report from the Scoliosis Research Society Morbidity and Mortality Committee. Spine. 2011 Apr 1;36(7):556-563.
  2. Schimmel JJ, Horsting PP, de Kleuver M, Wonders G, van Limbeek J. Risk factors for deep surgical site infections after spinal fusion. Eur Spine J. 2010 Oct;19(10):1711-1719.