Preying on the Elderly?
By Editorial Staff
While the number of spine surgeries has been on the increase, this is especially true for those 65 years and older. Consider the trend for low back surgery between 1979 and 1992:
Number of Low Back Surgeries per 100,000
| | 1979 | 1992 |
| Adults Under 65 | 113 | 152 |
| Adults 65 +Over | 51 | 188 |
SOURCE: Ciol MA, Deyo RA, Howell E, Kreif S.
An assessment of surgery for spinal stenosis: the trends, geographic variations, complications, and reoperations. J Am Geriatr Soc 44:285-290, 1996.
