Do you have enough confidence in your physicians to guarantee successful surgical outcomes? Florida's Deuk Spine Institute in Melbourne and the Surgery Center of Viera apparently do. The facilities offer warranties with spine surgeries that promise patients will be pain-free after procedures, according to this newspaper story. If not, they'll receive free follow-up care to solve lingering issues.

Patients or their insurers pay extra for the warranty, a varying amount depending on the age of the patient and the complexity of the procedure. The warranty, bought in 1-year increments for up to the patient's lifetime, covers additional care only for the area where the initial surgery is performed. Patients must receive the follow-up care at the Deuk Spine Institute or the Surgery Center of Viera.

Ponying up for the warranty mitigates future risk for the patient, says Ara "Deuk" Deukmedjian, MD, the spine surgeon who's spearheading the program. Dr. Deuk is confident enough to guarantee results because of the proven comprehensive care — from diagnostic testing to surgery to long-term pain management — he says patients receive at both facilities.

Although some major insurers cite frequent enrollee turnover for balking at paying extra for guaranteed long-term care, self-paying patients, workers' comp insurers and self-insured companies have shown strong interest in buying the warranty.

To date, no patients have needed their surgical warranty. "In order to offer this you have to have very predictable surgical outcomes," Dr. Deuk says in the report.

Daniel Cook