The growing burden of spine surgical wait times: a retrospective cohort study of longitudinal trends and impact on perioperative outcomes

Total wait times (T1+Ti+T2) for elective spine surgery significantly increased between 2009 and 2020. Ti showed the largest increase over the study period and was associated with a significant increase in adverse events. Future studies should investigate the impact of various efforts implemented and whether this translates to improved surgical outcomes and resource management.