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Back surgery showdown: which procedure is better for spinal stenosis?

NCT ID NCT02348645

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This pilot study tested whether a larger trial is possible comparing two standard surgeries for lumbar spinal stenosis with a related condition called spondylolisthesis. The two procedures are decompression alone and decompression with fusion. The study enrolled 70 surgical candidates and focused on feasibility, such as recruitment rates and patient adherence, rather than final treatment outcomes.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

What this could lead to
If successful, this pilot could pave the way for a larger trial that helps surgeons decide which surgery is better for this common back condition.
What could go wrong
This is a small pilot study with only 70 participants, focused on feasibility, not on proving which treatment works best. Results may not apply to all patients.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

70 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jul 2015

Finished

Aug 2023

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

50 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients deemed to be surgical candidates with focal (1-2 level) lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and associated stable degenerative spondylolisthesis with the following characteristics: 1. a clinical history of back, buttock and leg pain with walking or standing that is improved when lying, sitting or bending forward 2. a clinical history of leg symptoms that are greater than or equal to back symptoms with walking or standing, and 3. greater than 6 months of symptoms with failed conservative care * aged 50 or over * sufficient fluency in English or French to provide informed consent and complete questionnaires with or without the need of an interpreter Exclusion Criteria: * Greater than 25% listhesis or spinal instability as demonstrated by motion (\>5mm of translation) on flexion extension radiographs or non-loaded (MRI/CT or supine x-rays) to loaded imaging (standing radiograph) * Presence of kyphosis (\>0 degrees at the affected level or globally), degenerative scoliosis (\>10 degree using the Cobb method) with rotatory or lateral listhesis on preoperative x-rays * Clinical history of osteoporotic fracture or chronic oral steroid use * Previous posterior lumbar spinal surgery (excluding prior microdiscectomy) * Patients who have evidence of neurological disorders that affect physical function (e.g. peripheral neuropathy), neuromuscular disorders (e.g. multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's etc.) or systemic illness (e.g. inflammatory arthritis) that affects physical function

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Low Back Pain lumbar spinal stenosis spinal stenosis spondylolisthesis spondylosis

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Spinal stenosis Spondylolisthesis

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Foothills Medical Centre

    Calgary, Alberta, T2N 2N9, Canada

  • London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital

    London, Ontario, N6A 5W9, Canada

  • Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre

    Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada

  • Montreal General Hospital

    Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1A4, Canada

  • Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre

    Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 2Y9, Canada

  • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

    Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada

  • University Health Network

    Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2S8, Canada

  • Vancouver General Hospital

    Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9, Canada

More trials for these conditions

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