The X-STOP is a minimally invasive surgical procedure designed to alleviate painful symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. The device is inserted in the back of the spine to prevent a patient from bending too far backward at the narrowed segment, a position that for patients with spinal stenosis can cause leg pain (sciatica) and/or low back pain.
The device is made by Kyphon, Inc., Sunnyvale, California, and was approved for use by the FDA in November 2005.
The X-STOP, which stands for "Interspinous Process Decompression System", is a titanium implant that is inserted into the back at the lumbar spine segment that has symptomatic spinal stenosis (narrowing of the boney canal which can cause crowding of the nerve roots).
The X STOP implant is placed between the spinous processes in the back of the lumbar level (one or two levels) where the stenosis is present. Spinous processes are the thin projections from the back of the spinal bones to which muscle and ligaments are attached - they can usually be felt just under the skin as the boney protrusions running down the back of the spine.
The design of the X-STOP prevents the patient from hyper-extending their spine (bending too far backward) at the segments that are treated, but still allows patients to bend forward (flexion) and also rotate their lower back to a certain extent, so it maintains some of the motion in the low back. For patients who meet certain criteria, insertion of the X-STOP may be considered as an alternative to an open laminectomy surgery, or even laminectomy and spinal fusion, the current standards of care.
More Spinal Stenosis Info:
The device is not appropriate for all patients with symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. Candidates for the X-STOP must:
In addition, there are some patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who fit the above criteria but who nonetheless should not use the X-STOP. The device should not be used by people who have:
