Comparison of 3 Different Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Operations for lumbar spinal stenosis is the most often performed surgical procedure in the adult lumbar spine. This study reports the clinical outcome of the 3 most commonly used minimally invasive posterior decompression techniques. OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of 3 minimally invasive posterior decompression techniques for lumbar spinal stenosis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This randomized clinical trial used a parallel group design and included patients with symptomatic and radiologically verified lumbar spinal stenosis without degenerative spondylolisthesis. Patients were enrolled between February 2014 and October 2018 at the orthopedic and neurosurgical departments of 16 Norwegian public hospitals. Statistical analysis was performed in the period from May to June 2021. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to undergo 1 of the 3 minimally invasive posterior decompression techniques: unilateral laminotomy with crossover, bilateral laminotomy, and spinous process osteotomy.