RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Patients' and surgeons' perceptions of cutaneous scarring can vary, causing unpleasant physical and psychological outcomes. This study aims to bridge the current scientific literature gap and understand the impact of patient-perceived scar cosmesis after anterior and posterior cervical spine surgery. METHODS: Retrospective review of patients ≥18 years old who underwent anterior or posterior cervical spine surgery from 2017 to 2022 at a large, urban academic group. To select patients with adequate time for surgical scar maturation, only patients who were greater than six months post-surgery were included. The SCAR-Q survey, a surgical scar assessment tool, was administered to patients to assess patient perceptions of scar symptomatology, appearance, and psychosocial impact. Scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 as the best outcome. An additional 5-item Likert scale question was administered to assess overall surgical satisfaction. RESULTS: All 854 respondents who completed the survey were stratified into two groups"Unsatisfied vs Satisfied." Patients who were "unsatisfied" with their surgery had the lowest outcome scores for SCAR-Q appearance, symptom, and psychosocial scores than those who were "satisfied" (p<0.001). Females had significantly higher/"more favorable" responses for SCAR-Q Appearance (77.5 vs. 82.8 p<0.001) and Psychosocial (87.4 vs. 94.3 p<0.001) scores compared to males. Regression analysis performed for each component score showed that increases in all three component scores were significant in patients in the satisfied group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that cervical spine surgery patients unsatisfied with their surgical outcome have lower scar-related scores, highlighting the impact of cosmetic closure and appearance.
