Day Care Spine Surgery Versus Conventional Spine Surgery: A Comparative Analysis

Objective:  To evaluate the effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and patient benefits of daycare spine surgery as compared to traditional spine surgery. Materials & Methods:  This study was conducted at the neurosurgery department of Bakhtawar Amin Trust and Teaching Hospital Multan from January 2022 to October 2023. This was a prospective study involving 103 patients diagnosed with cervical PIVD, lumbar PIVD, IDEM, and extradural spinal tumors. Participants were equally split into two groups, one undergoing daycare and another with conventional spine surgery. They were analyzed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Neck Disability Index (ODI), time of operation, duration of hospitalization, cost of surgery, and follow-up duration. Results:  Results showed that daycare spine surgery had significantly less hospital stay duration (p-value< 0.01), low costs (p-value < 0.01), and low post-operative VAS scores (p-value < 0.05) relative to traditional spine surgery. Additionally, improvements in ODI and NDI scores were more in the daycare group (p-value< 0.01). The duration of surgery and blood loss was also less than the conventional surgery. Conclusion:  Daycare spine surgery has proved to be a better replacement for conventional surgery, having decreased resource use, enhanced cost-effectiveness, and better patient outcomes.