Lumbar spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal by surrounding bone and soft tissues
that compromises neural structures. Radiographic findings of spinal stenosis are highly prevalent
[1], and 85% of patients typically present with significant long-term symptoms of intermittent
neurogenic claudication (radicular pain during walking or standing that resolves with
lumbar flexion) [2]. When refractory to conservative treatment, patients are commonly referred
for surgery [3, 4]. As a result, the number of surgical procedures performed for lumbar
spinal stenosis has increased steadily over the years (e.g., the rates of complex fusion surgery
had a 15-fold increase between 2002 and 2007) [5], with costs reaching USD $1.65 billion per
year [6]. However, there is still a substantial variation in the surgical technique chosen by surgeons
[7, 8], although no clear superiority of one technique over the others has been yet identified
[9–11].