Clinical outcome
Pain and Patients Satisfaction
The mean intensity of pain according to VAS obtained
prior to surgical intervention was 5.4 (± 3.6). Pain
level increased (5.6 ± 2.3) within the first month after
surgery and then clearly decreased (3.6 ± 2.3) at the
time of follow up examination. Analysis of patient’s
satisfaction revealed 68% (n=32) were satisfied or very
satisfied with their operative reconstruction. Less satisfied
patients (n=1 very dissatisfied, n=2 dissatisfied)
were more frequently subjected to revisions or reoperations. Revisions (n=3) were performed due to
local wound infection (n=1), hardware failure (n=1)
and implant malposition (n=1).
Patients without concomitant injuries (3.2 (±2.2) versus
4.1 (±2.6); p=0.1734) or intra- and postoperative
complications (3.1 (±2.4) versus 4.8 (±1.8); p= 0.0720)
were shown to have less pain. However, statistical analysis
did not show these trends to be significant. VAS
Spine Score analysis showed patients without associated
complications had significantly superior score levels
(65.8 (±24.5) versus 44.7 (±16.7); p=0.0447). In addition,
younger patients (≤ 50 years) and individuals without
associated injuries also demonstrated superior pain
results. However, neither group reached statistical significance
(Table 2).