Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression is used to treat a painful condition called spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis describes a condition of when there is narrowing of the spinal canal which can cause pain in the back and lower extremities. Traditional decompression of this stenosis via an open surgical technique can lead to instability of the spine. This instability must be fixed by performing a surgery known as a fusion (often these two open surgeries are performed simultaneously with markedly increased risks). Minimally invasive lumbar decompression was invented to provide a more conservative, less invasive approach for decompression of spinal stenosis. The MILD procedure removes overgrown ligament in the back of the spine (which is called the ligamentum flavum), and to a lesser degree, overgrown bone. This procedure does not aim to treat all of the damage seen at that spinal level but is instead meant to provide just enough decompression of the stenotic area to decrease the chronic pain that these patients suffer from. By limiting what is removed from the area, the risk of instability is minimized and patients are hopefully able to avoid more invasive fusion surgery. Studies to date have shown good results with very low risk.