Lumbar discectomy is associated with higher rates of lumbar fusion

Lumbar disc herniation affects over three million people in the United States every year, and the rate of operation continually increases, particularly in patients 60 years or older.1,2 Surgical discectomy is a common treatment for lumbar disc herniation.1,3 One concern for this method is the risk of undergoing additional surgeries. 2,5,7 There are very limited population-level studies that examine the rate of lumbar fusion following lumbar discectomy. Additionally, there is no study that examines the risk of undergoing lumbar fusion in patients who have undergone lumbar discectomies compared to the risk of lumbar fusion in the general population with no previous lumbar discectomy.

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