Elderly as a Predictor for Perioperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Multi-level Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Regression Modeling Study

STUDY DESIGN: This was a single-institute retrospective study OBJECTIVE.: To describe perioperative and postoperative complications in elderly who underwent multi-level MIS TLIF while identifying predictors of complications. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The number of elderly patients undergoing spinal fusion is rising. Spinal surgery in the elderly is considered high risk with high rates of complications. However, perioperative and postoperative complications in elderly undergoing multi-level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) is not known. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 467 consecutive patients who underwent multi-level MIS TLIF at a single institution from 2013 to 2017. Two cohorts, 70 years or older and 50-69 years old were analyzed. Multiple logistic regressions with minor and major complication rates as the dependent variables were performed to identify predictors for complication based on previously sited risk factors. A p-value of