A study in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine evaluated the effectiveness of using local anesthetic in endoscopic posterior decompression procedures for lumbar spinal stenosis patients.
The study featured 50 patients. Patients were evaluated one, three, six, 12 and 24 months postoperatively. They were evaluated using the visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index.
One month after surgery, patients' VAS and ODI scores significantly improved, and the scores continued to improve throughout the two-year follow-up period. Patients with and without preoperative spondylolisthesis had no significant difference in clinical and radiological outcomes.
The study authors concluded, "[Endoscopic posterior decompression] under local anesthetic is effective for [lumbar spinal stenosis] treatment."