Intensive Care After Spinal Surgery

Abstract

Spinal surgery is a relatively common surgical procedure in the United States. More than 600,000 spinal operations are performed each year, and many are performed as outpatient procedures. Although only a small percentage of spinal surgery patients require intensive care unit (ICU) admission, spinal surgery does carry a risk of death. In addition, the neurologic recovery is often limited by the nature of the condition, and surgical outcomes can be adversely affected postoperatively.