Dr. Hannibal is constantly trying to improve the outcomes in spine surgery and spine care. To do that, research is a vital part in determining who will benefit from which procedures and by how much. You may be asked to be a part of a research trial. By being involved in these activities Dr. Hannibal is able to offer his patients the latest technology in spine care and confirm the outcomes to better inform patients. Hence, providing the most informed opinion.

If you are a part of a research trial, please remember that these studies are only as good as the information in them. Therefore, keeping follow-up appointments and completing the needed paperwork as accurately as possible is of the utmost importance. It is the responsibility to improve the world around you that lies in the balance. Loss of information or misinformation can affect the study outcome and then the recommendation of any surgeon who relies on it to counsel patients.

AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH TO SPINE SURGERY

Am J Med Qual. 2009 Nov-Dec;24(6 Suppl): 15S-24S

“…emphasize evidence-based medicine to provide the highest quality of care. Recent literature has emerged in spinal surgery that has profoundly increased the evidence base for several spinal procedures. There is now good evidence from randomized controlled trials that surgical treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation, decompression for spinal stenosis, and decompression and fusion for degenerative spondylolisthesis all offer significant clinical benefit in the face of serious back and radicular pain when compared with nonsurgical care. Studies of nonsurgical and surgical treatment for chronic low back pain are inconclusive, limited by study design and methodology. Optimizing diagnostic specificity, surgical indications, and measuring outcome with validated instruments should help the spine care community acquire essential data to provide the highest quality evidence-based care, while simultaneously eliminating procedures that lack evidence of efficacy or value.”