Clinical Effectiveness of Pre-operative Methadone in Single Level Lateral Transpsoas Interbody Fusions

Spinal operations including lumbar fusions for degenerative disorders are becoming more prevalent as the population ages. Inadequate or excessive postoperative analgesia can result in medical comorbidities and prolonged hospital length of stay and patient dissatisfaction. Existing literature has highlighted the preoperative administration of methadone as a promising adjuvant for post operative pain control. Methadone has the benefit of being long-acting and has more stable serum concentration and a single preoperative dose may have significant benefits post operatively. Here the investigators propose a prospective parallel-group, randomized, double-blinded study to assess post operative analgesic requirements after preoperative administration of either methadone 15 mg or Oxycodone 10/325. Primary outcome will be total IV and PO narcotic consumption in the post operative course. Secondary outcomes examined will include time to mobility, need for specialist pain management consultation, early readmission (within 2 weeks) for inadequate pain control, and complications associated with administration.