Jazini E, et al. - Former smokers undergoing lumbar spine surgery were compared with never smokers and current smokers in terms of baseline and postoperative patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Researchers identified distinct baseline and 12-month post-op PROs among former smokers that were intermediate between those of never smokers and current smokers. For patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery, smoking cessation does not entirely mitigate the negative effects of smoking on baseline and postoperative PROs. In patients undergoing decompression alone, this effect is less pronounced.