Introduction: Decisional regret is an emerging patient-reported outcome (PRO) used to evaluate surgical success and quality of care. This study aims to determine the correlation between patient expectation-actuality differences and decisional regret in patients undergoing minimally invasive lumbar decompression surgery. Additionally, it explores other PROs that correlate with decisional regret.
Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health who underwent elective minimally invasive one- or two-level lumbar decompression surgery. Preoperative and postoperative data were collected using the Musculoskeletal Outcome Data Evaluation and Management System (MODEMS) survey, Decisional Regret Scale (DRS), and Question 22 of SRS-22. The DRS was collected at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess relationships between satisfaction, decisional regret, and expectation-actuality mismatch.
Results: This prospective cohort study included patients at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health who underwent elective minimally invasive one- or two-level lumbar decompression surgery. Preoperative and postoperative data were collected using the Musculoskeletal Outcome Data Evaluation and Management System (MODEMS) survey, Decisional Regret Scale (DRS), and Question 22 of SRS-22. The DRS was collected at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess relationships between satisfaction, decisional regret, and expectation-actuality mismatch.
Conclusion : This study demonstrates a strong correlation between decisional regret, satisfaction, and expectation-outcome mismatch in minimally invasive lumbar surgery. Higher decisional regret correlates with lower satisfaction, emphasizing the importance of aligning patient expectations preoperatively to enhance satisfaction and improve recovery outcomes.
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