Return to duty rates in active duty service members after elective surgery of the lumbar spine

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study is to define the percentage of military service members returned to active duty following elective lumbar spine surgery. Methods: We reviewed 331 elective lumbar spine procedures performed on active duty service members over a 5-year period. All patients underwent a decompressive lumbar procedure with or without fusion. Return to duty (RTD) was our primary outcome, defined as no referral to a Medical Evaluation Board by the 12-month postoperative follow-up visit. All subject’s final disposition was recorded as a binomial distribution and stratified by demographic parameters. Subgroup analysis comparing the return rates for specific procedures was performed. Results: 232 patients met our study inclusion criteria. 136 underwent isolated decompressive procedures and 96 patients underwent fusion procedures. The overall RTD rate following elective lumbar spine surgery was 64% (n = 149) (95% confidence interval, CI [58, 70]). The RTD rate for isolated decompressive procedures was 63% (n = 86) (95% CI [55, 71]), and 66% (n = 63) (95% CI [56, 75]) after decompression with lumbar fusion. Conclusions: The RTD rate following elective lumbar spine surgery is 64%. When stratified by procedure type, isolated decompression procedures (63% RTD rate) and fusion procedures (66% RTD rate) displayed similar results.