Contact: Michelle Pipia-Stiles
(516) 570-4406
mpipiastil@nshs.edu

MANHASSET, NY -- Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a narrowing of the spinal canal and a common cause of lower back pain, affects more than 1.2 million people each year in the United States. Common symptoms of LSS include pain and numbness in the buttocks, thighs or calves that is worse with walking; back pain that radiates to the legs; and difficulty or imbalance while walking. For those sufferers who have intractable symptoms, surgery is usually recommended when anti-inflammatory drugs and pain medications fail.

The following North Shore-LIJ hospitals are offering patients with chronic LSS a new alternative treatment called MILD (minimally invasive lumbar decompression):

• North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset (Alon Mogilner, MD)
• Southside Hospital in Bayshore (Luis Fandos, MD)
• Staten Island University Hospital (Tim Canty, MD; Ken Chapman, MD; Sudhir Diwan, MD)
• Syosset Hospital (John Stamatos, MD)

The outpatient procedure, only about an hour long, is done in most cases under a local anesthetic. “During the procedure, which is performed through a tiny portal the size of a diameter of a pencil, MILD devices are used through fluoroscopic guidance to remove small portions of the bone and tissue that is causing the pressure on the spinal nerve,” said Alon Mogilner, MD, director of functional and restorative neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital. “As opposed to open surgical treatments such as laminotomy or spinal fusion, the MILD procedure allows for patients to usually go home the same day and return to their daily activities within a few days.”

Those eligible for the MILD procedure are patients who have evidence of LSS on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans, and have severe symptoms of pain, numbness or weakness in the legs that restrict normal daily activities and have not responded well to drug therapy or epidural steroid injections.

For more information about the MILD procedure or to see if you are an eligible candidate, please call 516-570-4406.

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About the Cushing Neuroscience Institute:

North Shore-LIJ’s Cushing Neuroscience Institute was established in 2006 and is a multidisciplinary continuum of neuroscience programs that combines medicine, scientific research and technology, clinical programs, surgical techniques and education to advance the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases and disorders. The Cushing Neuroscience Institute team of neurospecialists is dedicated to providing high-quality, world-class medical and surgical care, while maintaining the highest ethical standards.