Level II, prognostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

No abstract

This nationally representative study of inpatients in the United States provides evidence that diabetes is associated with increased risk for postoperative complications, nonroutine discharge, increased total hospital charges, and length of stay following lumbar fusion. Prospective studies to determine causality as well as the potential impact of diabetes control on these variables have not yet been done.

The use of synthetic mesh to reconstruct a disrupted patellar tendon is a straightforward surgical procedure that was successful and durable in the majority of patients in our series. Compared with the use of an allograft, this technique eliminates the possibility of disease transmission and may be more cost-effective. No complications unique to the synthetic mesh were observed.