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Laminectomy and the Treatment of Lower-Back Pain in Massachusetts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Debra R. Milamed ,
Carol A. Warfield ,
John Hedley-whyte  and
Frederick Mosteller
Debra R. Milamed
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
Carol A. Warfield
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
John Hedley-whyte
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
Frederick Mosteller
Affiliation:
Harvard School of Public Health
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Abstract

During 1984–1985, laminectomy rates in Massachusetts demonstrated a 2.2-fold variation among districts. Thirty-five percent of laminectomies occurred in 7 of the 108 hospitals studied. Approximately 81% of laminectomies were performed by neurosurgeons. Rates of laminectomy decline with increasing age after 65, while rates of hospitalization for lower-back pain rise.

Type
General Essays
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , Summer 1993 , pp. 426 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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