Vertiflex Superion Procedure
The Vertiflex Superion procedure is an innovative and minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). Once placed, the device helps open up the narrow area of your spine, relieving the pressure and pain associated with spinal stenosis.
How effective is the treatment?
Based on a study published in the Journal of Pain Research in November 2018, the researchers examined and characterized the opioid medication usage patterns among patients treated with stand-alone IPD through 5 years of postoperative follow-up. The primary analysis included all 190 patients randomized to receive the Superion® device. In a sub-group of 98 subjects, they determined opioid medication prevalence among subjects with a prior history of opioid use. The results indicated that between baseline and 5 years, there was an 85% decrease in the proportion of subjects using opioids, and a decreased opioid medication usage was also observed among the sub-group of subjects with a history of opiates prior to entering the trial.
This finding extends previous results with IPD showing long-term sustained clinical improvements, a reduction in symptoms of neurogenic claudication and a decreasing requirement for revision surgery in this population.
The symptoms of LSS often include
- Pain while walking
- APain relief when sitting or bending forward
- CNumbness or “tingling” feeling in your legs, calves, or buttocks
- Weakness and/or loss of balance
- Aching, dull back pain spreading to your legs
- Decreased endurance during physical activities
- Pain, weakness, tingling and/or cramping in the legs, buttocks, and/or back (neurogenic intermittent claudication)
- Using a cane, walker, or shopping cart to move around more comfortably