The vast majority of people in the US will experience low back or leg pain sometime in their lives. Some will go on to have chronic pain and in those over 50 years of age the diagnosis will be often be central spinal canal stenosis. The diagnosis of spinal stenosis is dreaded because it causes pain when standing or walking. Yes, when people are trying to exercise, work, or enjoy an active lifestyle is precisely when stenosis stops them in their tracks and makes them sit. So what is this spinal stenosis and what do we do about it?
MILD stands for Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression. This procedure involves no surgical incision nor instrumentation. After local anesthesia with minimal sedation, small instruments are placed in the back through a nick in the skin. With these instruments, small amounts of bone and significant amounts of ligamentum flavum are removed. The procedure typically will take less than an hour and if the patient wishes he or she can go home the same day. There are few restrictions after surgery and patients can return to work or activity in a just few days.
