Now available: mild® for the Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
More than one million people are diagnosed and treated for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) each year in the United States. 1 A degenerative, age-related condition, LSS is a narrowing of the lower spinal canal that causes pressure on the nerves and leads to pain and immobility. Bluegrass Community Hospital is proud to offer LSS patients
mild, a groundbreaking new procedure that safely and therapeutically reduces pain and improves mobility while maintaining the spine’s structural stability.* Many
mild patients report immediate relief, and most go home the same day.
Why mild?
mild provides a new and safe therapeutic option for LSS sufferers who are no longer responding to conservative care (physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic) and symptom management (medications, epidural steroid injections [ESIs], pain pumps) but who are not candidates for more invasive lumbar spine decompression surgeries or fusion.
How mild works
mild provides relief for patients by removing a primary cause of LSS. During the procedure, the physician uses mild devices to remove small pieces of bone and the tissue causing the pressure on the nerves. Performed under image guidance through a 5.1 mm
mild Portal (about the diameter of a pencil), mild requires only an adhesive bandage for closure.
mild safety and efficacy
The
mild procedure and devices have been proven safe and effective in several clinical studies.2,3 Data have shown that
mild patients experienced consistent, statistically significant improvement in pain and function as well as physical well-being following treatment.3 No major adverse events related to the devices or the procedure have been reported.2,3
About LSS
LSS results from a narrowing in the lower (lumbar) spinal canal caused by the growth of bone or tissue. As this space in the lower spinal canal shrinks, increasing pressure is placed on the nerves that go through it to the legs. This pressure causes pain, numbness or weakness in the lower back, buttocks, legs and feet.
The physical discomfort from LSS tends to worsen while walking or standing, and is relieved by bending forward, sitting or lying down. Patients commonly complain of difficulty walking even short distances, and do so with a characteristic stooped posture in more advanced cases.
The treatment continuum for LSS includes conservative care, such as physical therapy, acupuncture, exercise and chiropractic, as well as symptom management with medications, epidural steroid injections (ESIs), pain pumps and/or neuromodulation. However, these treatments do not address the source of the pain, and, in most cases, symptoms return. In the past, the next line of treatment for LSS included 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 leads to changes in the natural anatomy and structural stability of the spine.
mild, now available at Bluegrass Community Hospital was developed to provide LSS patients a less invasive alternative earlier in the treatment continuum.
More Information
For more information on mild at Bluegrass Community Hospital, please call toll-free 888-847-DOCS. Additional information is available at www.vertosmed.com or by calling 877-958-6227.
* Cleared for lumbar decompression, Vertos mild is designed to treat lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).
1 Derived from a longitudinal CMS database.
2 Deer T., et al. New image-guided ultra-minimally invasive lumbar decompression method: the mild procedure. Pain Physician 2010; 13:35-41.
3 Caraway, D. MiDAS ? (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.