Kyphon and the X-STOP

Dean Scott: If you are one of the estimated nearly 1.5 million Americans affected by moderate lumbar spinal stenosis, there is a minimally invasive surgical option that could help minimize the pain or numbness in your legs that you may experience on a daily basis and potentially get you back to a more normal way of life. Thanks to a technological breakthrough there is now a way to treat these often debilitating symptoms in the form of device called the X-Stop, which is the first approved interspinous process devised in the US for treating the symptoms of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis in patients aged 50 and over.

Dr. Zucherman: It essentially is a small distractor that is placed between the collapsed bones to restore them back to normal height. And as a result of this, the hole where the constriction is corrected in the spinal canal.

Dean Scott: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that gradually develops with age as bone and ligaments in the spinal column thicken. Pain in the lower back that spreads to your legs with numbness and pins and needles is caused when spinal nerves get pinched between those thickened bones and ligaments. Zucherman says this new device can help to relieve those symptoms.

Dr. Zucherman: This actually functions as a bumper or a stopper or a jack which elevates or restores the height of the collapse joint and spine where the holes are too tight.

Ruth Green: After the X-Stop I improved a lot then with it I can do everything that a normal person can do which I could not do before. Everything was limited. I was hurting all the time.

Dean Scott: An estimated 95% of people will experience some age related spinal degeneration by age 50. The implant device procedure is covered by Medicare and some private insurers and has been shown through clinical studies to significantly improve symptom severity and physical function and does not limit future treatment options should they be necessary. This surgical option could help those affected to get back on their feet and help them regain their everyday routine. This procedure and its risks should be discussed with your doctor because as with any surgical procedure, complications including serious complications may occur. This is Dean Scott reporting.