title: Decrease in health care resource utilization with MILD.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare health care resource utilization before and after minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD) procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Veteran's Administration health care system.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients who underwent MILD at the author's institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  The charts of 22 patients who underwent MILD procedure were reviewed. The primary comparison was between the amount of time spent in specialty care and the number of interventional procedures performed before and after MILD. Each patient's current status and need for continued specialty care were secondary measures. Patient satisfaction with MILD, and pre- and post-VAS were recorded as well.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After MILD, there was close to 45% reduction in time spent in specialty care and an almost fourfold decrease in number of interventional pain procedures performed on patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Over half the patients no longer required chronic pain management to treat their LSS symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Not only is MILD a reliable method to treat LSS, MILD also appears to reduce the consumption of limited health care resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, USA. johnjwang@gmail.com
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Kirk
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bowden
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cipta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000601:surgery*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D014600:Utilization Review