INTRODUCTION
With the aging population increasing steadily, the
number of patients seeking treatment for lumbar
spinal disease also is likely to increase. Compared
with traditional conservative management, including physical
therapy, pain management, epidural steroid injections, and
modification of activities of daily life, surgical care often is more
effective.1
The goal of the surgical intervention is to relieve significant and
ongoing pain with the least risk of complications and minimal
amount of tissue disruption. Some implants are used primarily for
the treatment of intermittent neurogenic claudication related to
herniation, stenosis, or spondylolisthesis with or without back
pain. Good results were reported in some studies2-5; other studies
suggested that interspinous devices may not provide any benefit
compared with traditional decompressive surgery and may be
associated with a greater rate of reoperation.6-9 In patients with
lumbar disease with low back pain (LBP) of greater severity than
leg pain, decompression was not as effective as expected in
decreasing LBP.10
LBP was identified as one of the leading debilitating conditions
in the world. Although not always synonymous with each other,
disc degeneration is regarded as one of the factors related to the
development of LBP.11 Although surgical techniques have evolved,