ID: 212778 Minimally Invasive Interspinous Process Decompression for Elderly Patient With L1-L2 Lumbar Stenosis

Abstract

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is the progressive narrowing of the spinal canal. In the USA, the prevalence of LSS in those older than 60 is 47% making it one of the most common causes of lower back pain (1). Diagnosis is multifaceted and based on history, physical exam, and imaging studies. LSS with neurogenic claudication characteristically presents as pain relieved by sitting and worse with standing (2). The initial management of LSS consists of physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory medications followed by epidural steroid injections. When conservative treatment fails, the most common surgical management is decompressive laminectomy with or without fusion (3). Open spinal surgery, however, is not without risks given that the majority of LSS patients are elderly and have multiple comorbidities. An effective procedure in relieving symptomatic LSS is minimally invasive interspinous process decompression which entails an interspinous spacer that is implanted under local anesthesia (4).