Richard A. Deyo, MD, Professor, Family Medicine, recently co-authored a study titled: Trends, Major Medical Complications, and Charges Associated With Surgery for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis in Older Adults. The study was widely covered in the media; an interview with Dr. Deyo was featured in the Washington Post online edition.

Dr. Deyo’s study found that there was a fifteenfold increase in the rate of complex lower back surgeries performed on older Americans from 2002 to 2007 that caused more life-threatening complications. In the Washington Post article, Deyo recommended that patients ask their doctors about alternatives to complicated operations.