Louisiana Pain Specialists and the Vertiflex Procedure for Spinal Stenosis

Louisiana Pain Specialists and the Vertiflex Procedure for Spinal Stenosis

Louisiana Pain Specialists is proud to offer the most advanced therapies, treatments, and technologies to help treat our patients’ pain. Dr. Suneil “Neil” Jolly, Dr. Eric Sterne, and Dr. Erik Davis are among the few providers in the Gulf Coast region to offer the Vertiflex procedure for treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. Designed with patient safety and comfort in mind, this FDA-approved, outpatient procedure offers patients suffering from lumbar spinal stenosis a minimally-invasive alternative to other, more intense surgical options, such as a laminectomy or spinal fusion.

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a narrowing of the spinal canal or passage. The most common cause of LSS is aging, as normal wear and tear on the spine as we get older causes changes of the spine. The narrowing of the spinal canal can cause the compression of nerves in the low back, leading to low back pain which spreads down the buttocks and into the legs. The most common symptoms associated with LSS are pain in the low back and legs while walking; numbness, cramping, or “pins and needles” in your low back, buttocks or legs; leg weakness or loss of balance; and loss of endurance while performing everyday activities. Patients with LSS often get pain relief with sitting or bending forward.

As a safer alternative to traditional, more-invasive surgeries, the Vertiflex procedure involves placing a small implant, or spacer the size of a dime, between the spinous processes of the spine, which are the thin, bony projections on the back of the spine. After the spacer is placed, there is more space for your spinal cord and nerves. The spacer holds the compressed vertebrae further apart which lifts pressure off the nerves to alleviate low back and leg pain.

Vertiflex, which is fully-reversible, is clinically-proven to provide long-term pain relief associated with LSS. This outpatient procedure minimizes tissue damage and blood loss, which leads to faster recovery times versus traditional, more invasive spine surgeries. In most cases, this procedure takes about 15-20 minutes. Other added benefits are that it does not involve any bone removal (as in a traditional laminectomy) and it does not permanently limit movement of the spinal (as in a spinal fusion).

The Vertiflex treatment is an effective option for patients when other conservative treatments have failed or if more aggressive surgical treatment is not an option. It has been highly effective in giving patients with lumbar spinal stenosis relief of their low back and leg pain. Let us help you get back to your physical functions and activities. Contact Louisiana Pain Specialists today if you think this procedure may be right for you!