This retrospective registry study analyzed 10,242 adults with degenerative or isthmic spondylolisthesis from the SRS Morbidity and Mortality database (2004-2007). It asked which patient and surgical factors independently predict perioperative complications.
When counseling a patient about surgical risk for spondylolisthesis, Meyerding grade is the number that matters most. A patient with Meyerding I or II carries roughly an 8% complication risk. A patient with Meyerding III or higher faces nearly 23% — almost a 1-in-4 chance of a perioperative complication.
Older age and degenerative type look riskier on univariate analysis, but neither holds up once you account for grade. The grade drives the risk, not the age or the diagnosis label.
When a patient or colleague asks whether adding interbody fusion or doing a revision increases risk, this paper gives you the answer: surgical approach and revision status do not independently predict complications in this dataset. Choosing a more extensive construct is not inherently riskier from a complication standpoint.
As a trainee, use these figures as your consent benchmarks: roughly 9% overall complication rate, 0.1% mortality, and a 2.1% dural tear risk. The largest series in the literature at the time of publication.
This retrospective registry study analyzed 10,242 adults with degenerative or isthmic spondylolisthesis from the SRS Morbidity and Mortality database (2004-2007). It asked which patient and surgical factors independently predict perioperative complications.
When counseling a patient about surgical risk for spondylolisthesis, Meyerding grade is the number that matters most. A patient with Meyerding I or II carries roughly an 8% complication risk. A patient with Meyerding III or higher faces nearly 23% — almost a 1-in-4 chance of a perioperative complication.
Older age and degenerative type look riskier on univariate analysis, but neither holds up once you account for grade. The grade drives the risk, not the age or the diagnosis label.
When a patient or colleague asks whether adding interbody fusion or doing a revision increases risk, this paper gives you the answer: surgical approach and revision status do not independently predict complications in this dataset. Choosing a more extensive construct is not inherently riskier from a complication standpoint.
As a trainee, use these figures as your consent benchmarks: roughly 9% overall complication rate, 0.1% mortality, and a 2.1% dural tear risk. The largest series in the literature at the time of publication.