I presented a paper this morning at the North Carolina Orthopaedic Association (NCOA) Meeting.
I wanted to thank all of my Hey Clinic staff who worked very hard to help get this data and analysis together. Special thanks to Rachel Robinson PAC, NC State pre-Med Charlotte Rastas, Jimmy Davies, Emily Fulmer, Jennifer Hardy, Sarah Rivera for their help, and Mike Vorberger from SAS for his help with the statistical analysis and SAS JMP help. All of my Hey Clinic staff, however, are involved in outcomes data collection which is built in to the way we care for patients so we can always be improving quality and process over time.

The bottom line of my talk was that estimated blood loss (EBL) does decrease with surgical experience in scoliosis / kyphosis spinal deformity surgery. There was also strong correlation with number of levels of fusion, and a close connection between surgical time and blood loss.

This is a good example how we can always continue to improve and learn over time for the sake of our patients.

It was good to see many of my former Duke residents and their families at the meeting, including Ed Lilly from Hendersonville, NC who is our upcoming NCOA President. Also good to see Dr. Jim Nunley, Dr. Bill Hardaker and others from the Duke Faculty, and also Jim Mooney who I knew from Boston Children’s. Steve and Libby Lang are also here — always good to see them. It was also good to see Alan Skipper from NC Medical Society. A great meeting.

Dr. Lloyd Hey
Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Surgery
https://www.heyclinic.com