The Bonati Spine Institute Supports Recent Study Reporting That Invasive Back Surgery is Overused

HUDSON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Bonati Spine Institute, the leading center for the patented Bonati Spine Procedures for minimally invasive laser spine surgery, supports the recent study by the Journal of the America Medical Association reporting that invasive back surgery is overused and often fails to improve long-term outcomes.

“It seems implausible that the number of patients with the most complex spinal pathology increased 15-fold in just 6 years.”

The new study, published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that although the rate of lower-back surgery among older Americans had declined slightly between 2002 and 2007, the rate of the most complex, medically risky and most expensive type of lower back surgery increased 15-fold (from under 1% of operations to 14.6%) during this same time period. Besides driving up health care costs, the authors found that overuse of the expensive, risky technologies puts patients at increased risk of death and life-threatening complications without providing a corresponding increase in pain relief or mobility.

Surgery for back problems can be helpful for some, but the authors of the study say, “It seems implausible that the number of patients with the most complex spinal pathology increased 15-fold in just 6 years.”

In an accompanying editorial to the study, Eugene J. Carragee, M.D., director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at Stanford University School of Medicine, takes a closer look at the potential financial interests and finds surgeons may be able to charge significantly more for a spinal fusion.

In the complex surgeries, charges for implants alone can exceed $50,000. With Medicare footing the bill, doctors are paid more for the complex procedure, hospitals are paid more and medical device companies also benefit from increased sales. Carragee reports that these “conflicting economic incentives” are one of the reasons for the increase in more complex surgeries who would likely fare better with more simple procedures. But, according to the study, the downside is that the complex spinal surgeries carry greater risk of death, serious complications and long-term problems and so far have not proven to be more beneficial than more conservative, less invasive methods.

“When it comes to spinal surgery, less is more. From a financial standpoint, we actually save money for insurance companies. But, more importantly, from a patients’ standpoint, we give them a chance to live life again. Over 40% of the patients seen at The Bonati Spine Institute are those who need back problems corrected after having previous back surgery performed at another medical facility. We are proud of our over 93% success rate of our least invasive, patented procedures,” commented Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., creator of The Bonati Spine Procedures and Chief Surgeon at The Bonati Spine Institute.

Developed and perfected by Dr. Alfred O. Bonati, The Bonati Spine Procedures are advanced spine surgeries employing a small incision to correct problems of the lumbar, cervical and thoracic spine with patented instrumentation and methods. The patient, under local anesthesia, is alert and able to communicate with the surgeon throughout the outpatient procedure. The result of this approach is far less trauma to the muscles and tissues, minimal blood loss and faster recovery.

For over 28 years, The Bonati Spine Institute has been the leader in least invasive outpatient spine surgery. Alfred O. Bonati, M.D. was the first to develop and patent methods and instruments for laser spine surgery to correct problems of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine known as The Bonati Spine Procedures. Their success rate of over 90% offers patients renewed hope. Available only at The Bonati Spine Institute, these gentle procedures have been performed successfully more than 35,000 times to treat conditions that include spinal stenosis, arthritis of the spine, herniated discs, bulging discs, whiplash, failed back surgery syndrome, and degenerative disc disease. For more information, visit www.bonati.com.