Surgeons Under-Report Complications

Researchers found that after back surgery, patients report their own complication rates from surgery as much as 10 times higher than their surgeons do.

In the past, surgical outcomes have been assessed by the surgeon only, with success being judged from a predominantly surgical or technical perspective. Nowadays, it is generally accepted that the patient should be the main judge of outcome. Unfortunately, the assessment of complications after surgery has not enjoyed this same enlightened approach.

Researchers gave questionnaires to both patients and surgeons one year after back surgery. In the patient questionnaire, the patient was asked “did any complications arise as a consequence of your operation 1 year ago (e.g. problems with wound healing, paralysis, sensory disturbances, etc.)?” Patients answered "yes" at a rate of 29% while their surgeons reported complications in as few as 3-10% of cases.

This gap in reporting illustrates the need to more adequately consider the perceptions of the patients in defining the complication rate related to back surgery.

Source: Spine Meeting Abstracts