Incidence, etiology and time course of delays to adult spinal deformity surgery: a single-center experience

Purpose We sought to determine the incidence, origin, and timeframe of delays to adult spinal deformity surgery so that institutions using preoperative multidisciplinary patient assessment teams might better anticipate and address these potential delays. Methods Complex spine procedures for treatment of adult spinal deformity from 1/1/18 to 8/31/21 were identified. Procedures for infection, tumor, and urgent/emergent cases were excluded. Operations delayed due to COVID or those that were performed outside of our established perioperative care pathway were also excluded. The electronic health record was used to identify the etiology and timeline of all pre- and peri-operative delays. Results Of 235 patients scheduled for complex spine surgery, 193 met criteria for inclusion. Of these patients, 35 patients experienced a surgical delay (18.1%) with a total of 41 delays recorded. Reasons for delay include medically unoptimized (25.6%), intraoperative complication (17.9%), patient directed delay (17.9%), patient illness/injury (15.4%), scheduling complication (10.3%), insurance delay/denial (5.1%), and unknown (2.6%). Twenty-four delays experienced by 22 individuals occurred within 7 days of their scheduled surgery date. Conclusion At a single multidisciplinary center, most delays to adult spinal deformity surgery occur before a patient is admitted to the hospital, and for recommendations of additional medical workup/clearance. We suspect that the preoperative protocol might increase pre-admission delays for unoptimized patients, as the protocol is intended to ensure patients receive surgery only when they are medically ready. Further research is needed to determine the economic and system impact of delays related to a preoperative optimization protocol weighed against the reduction in adverse events these protocols can provide.