PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Holderread, Brendan
AU  - Botros, David
AU  - Orozco, Erin
AU  - Liu, Jonathan
AU  - Syed, Ishaq Y.
AU  - Rizkalla, James
TI  - Instagram and Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Surgery: An Analysis of Social Media and Its Relationship to Patient Perception of Surgery
AID  - 10.14444/8259
DP  - 2022 May 24
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - 8259
4099  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/early/2022/05/20/8259.short
4100  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/early/2022/05/20/8259.full
AB  - Background Multiple studies have utilized social media to evaluate patient-perceived outcomes after surgery. To the authors knowledge, no published studies have evaluated patient-perceived outcomes after ACDF surgery through social media analysis.Objective To analyze posts shared on Instagram referencing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for tone, gender, activities of daily living (ADLs), rehabilitation, incision, pain, neurological injury, complications, and content of post.Study Design Cross-sectional study.Methods Public instragram posts were isolated and evaluated using the hashtag “#ACDF.” Each individual post was analyzed by the authors for the variables previously listed. In total, 529 posts were included for investigation and analysis of patient perception of ACDF through social media.Results Of all included posts, approximately 95% of posts had a positive tone. There was statistical significance between positive tone and ADLs (P = 0.0379) and rehabilitation (P = 0.0118), as well as negative tone with persistent pain (P ≤ 0.001), incision/scar (P = .0143), and surgical complications (need for reoperation/nonunion/infection) (P = 0.0259).Conclusions Reported outcomes after ACDF have not been evaluated through social media avenues. This analysis of patients sharing their experiences on social media after ACDF demonstrates that returning to ADL, rehabilitation, pain, and incisions are of the utmost importance to patients.Level of Evidence 3.