title: Timing of Surgery After Spinal Cord Injury.
abstract: Although timing for surgical intervention after spinal cord injury remains controversial, there is accumulating evidence suggesting that early surgery may improve neurologic outcomes, particularly with incomplete spinal cord injury, and may reduce non-neurologic complications and health care resource utilization. Moreover, even in patients with complete spinal cord injury, minor improvement in neurologic function can lead to significant changes in quality of life. This article reviews the experimental and clinical data examining surgical timing after spinal cord injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, 3rd Floor Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, 3rd Floor Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: James.schuster@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schuster
mesh_terms: D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Spinal cord injury; Spine trauma; Surgical decompression; Surgical timing