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Geisinger Wyoming Valley had in-hospital complications for spinal fusion procedures that were &#8220;significantly higher than expected&#8221; in 2014, according to a new statewide report.The report released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PH4C) is titled &#8220;Spinal fusions in Pennsylvania,&#8221; referring to a procedure that joins two or more vertebrae to relieve back pain by limiting motion of diseased parts of the spine.It looked at three measures: In-hospital complications, readmission for a complication, and any unplanned re-admissions, rating each as significantly higher, significantly lower or not significantly different from the expected rate.Geisinger Wyoming Valley was the only Luzerne County hospital with a significantly higher rate in any category, and it occurred under in-house complications. Geisinger Danville also had higher than expected rates in the same category, as did Moses Taylor in Scranton.Geisinger issued a response via email noting the (PHC4) is &#8220;one of many data sources&#8221; reflecting hospital performance, and that Geisinger works &#8220;to provide quality and value to our patients, and we utilize numerous reports and measurements toward that goal.&#8220;Regarding the PHC4 Spinal Fusion Report, we are grouped with other advanced providers that typically care for more complex patients. We identified and remedied a systematic coding error that added spinal fusion complications, and our attention to preventing infections has resulted in fewer infections at both Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center.&#8221;The report noted there has been &#8220;a rapid rise&#8221; in the number of fusions performed nationwide, with a tripling in the 1990s and another doubling in the last decade.According to the data, Geisinger &#8212; particularly the Danville facility &#8212; has performed more such procedures than many other hospitals. There were 339 spinal fusions at Geisinger Wyoming Valley and 696 at Geisinger Danville.Of the 111 hospitals statewide that performed fusions in 2014, only six did more than Geisinger Danville, and of those only two did more than Geisinger Danville and Wyoming Valley combined.The report included the rate of procedures per 10,000 residents 18 and over in each county. The statewide rate was 19.3. Luzerne County&#8217;s rate was 15.8, lower than all adjacent counties expect Sullivan, where it was 15.7. Lackawanna County was 15.9, Wyoming 26.2 and Carbon 23.2.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Report: Geisinger sees higher than expected issues with spinal fusions