Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression

MILD Procedure for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS)

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis or LSS is a condition caused by narrowing of the spinal canal due to excess bone growth or tissue such as cartilage. Spinal stenosis is most common in men and women over 50 years old. Younger people who were born with a narrow spinal canal or who hurt their spines may also get spinal stenosis.

Causes of Spinal Stenosis can include:

• Aging
• Osteoarthritis (wear and tear arthritis)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Congenital conditions
• Tumors of the spine
• Injuries
• Paget's disease (a disease that affects the bones)
• Too much fluoride in the body
• Calcium deposits on the ligaments that run along the spine.

Symptoms

There may be no symptoms of spinal stenosis, or symptoms may appear slowly and get worse over time. Signs of spinal stenosis include:

• Pain in the neck or back
• Numbness, weakness, cramping, or pain in the arms or legs
• Pain going down the leg
• Foot problems

The mild procedure is a new minimally invasive approach to decrease pain in patients with LSS and return them to a more active lifestyle.  Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for decompression of the lumbar spine, mild is an image-guided, device-enabled procedure that safely and therapeutically reduces pain and improves mobility while maintaining the spine’s structural stability. mild has been proven safe and effective in several clinical studies.1,2 Data have shown that mild patients experienced consistent, statistically significant improvement in pain and function as well as physical well-being following treatment.2 No major adverse events related to the devices or the procedure have been reported.^1,2

LSS is a common condition, with more than 1.2 million Americans diagnosed and treated each year.3  Onset generally occurs after age 50. The prevalence of LSS is likely to increase over the next decade, as the population of Americans over age 50 is estimated to grow by 18 million between 2009 and 2019.⁴

The treatment continuum for LSS includes conservative care such as physical therapy, acupuncture, exercise and chiropractic. In addition, symptom management may include the use of medications, epidural steroid injections (ESIs), pain pumps and neuromodulation. However, these treatments do not remove the source of the pain, and, in most cases, symptoms return. In the past, these symptomatic patients were then referred for open surgical procedures such as laminotomy (partial removal of the lamina, a plate of bone in the vertebrae) or laminectomy (removal of the entire lamina and the ligaments that are attached to it), and/or fusion. Each of these has risk factors and results in changes to the natural anatomy and structural stability of the spine.

mild* is a solution that safely removes a primary source of LSS earlier in the treatment continuum.

Rferences:
¹ Deer T., et al. New image-guided ultra-minimally invasive lumbar decompression method: the mild procedure. Pain Physician 2010; 13:35-41.
² Caraway, D. MiDAS I (mild Decompression Alternative to open Surgery): 12-week follow-up of a prospective, multi-center clinical study. International Spine Intervention Society 18th Annual Scientific Meeting, July 2010.
³ Derived from longitudinal CMS database.
⁴ eMedicine from WebMD, “Spinal Stenosis,” Author: John Nk Hsiang, MD, PhD, Director of Spine Surgery, Seattle Neuroscience Institute, Updated: Dec 13, 2007, http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/247887-overview.

  Fact Sheet on MILD

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