My mother is really suffering with spinal stenosis. She’s tried everything from steroid injections to exercise to bracing. She’s pretty frail and probably wouldn’t tolerate heavy duty surgery. Is there anything else we can try?

There is a new device that can be slipped under the skin and in between two vertebral bones to help prop them open. This keeps the spinal canal and spaces for the spinal nerve roots open. It’s called an interspinous process decompression (IPD) system.

The patient doesn’t need to be under general anesthesia. A local anesthetic is all that’s required. It’s not necessary to remove any bone so it’s a minimally invasive surgery (MIS).

The patient has very little pain with this operation. There is very little blood loss and a faster recovery is possible.