RESUMO
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study. OBJECTIVE: To compare the peri-operative morbidity of patients who undergo same-day operations for lumbar spinal stenosis accompanied by severe osteoarthritis of knee with those who undergo staged operations . SUMMARY AND LITERATURE REVIEW: There is no report on the peri-operative morbidity of same-day operations for patients who have a concurrent lumbar spinal stenosis and severe osteoarthritis of the knee, even though elective surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis or total knee arthroplasty are safe procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 2005, 11 patients who underwent staged operations for lumbar spinal stenosis and concomitant osteoarthritis of the knee (Group I) and 14 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty and lumbar spinal decompression and fusion on the same-day (Group II) were compared in terms of the operative time, blood loss, perioperative complications and admission days. The data was analyzed statistically using a chi-square test through SPSS v.10.0. RESULTS: The mean surgery time in groups I and II was 266+/-34.4 minutes and 258+/-54.2 minutes, respectively. The estimated blood loss during operation of groups I and II was 1055+/-229.6 and 925+/-174.0. There was no statistical differences between the two groups. There were no life-threatening complications in any group. The admission period for group I and group II were 41.0+/-6.05 days and 30.1+/-5.10 days respectively, but there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in the surgical time, estimated blood loss, and complications between the group that underwent the staged operations and the group that underwent same-day operations. A possible surgical option is to perform both procedures on the same day.