A 90-year-old woman who struggled with debilitating back pain hindering her ability to walk or stay on her feet is attributing her newfound vitality to a minimally invasive procedure.
Hailing from New York, Marcia Grazen encountered significant challenges in her daily mobility.
Speaking with local news outlet 2WGRZ, she shared, “Life was extremely difficult for me because walking came with constant pain. Standing was an ordeal, with intense leg pain and a very tender lower back, especially in the lumbar region.”
Grazen was battling lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a condition affecting 100 million individuals worldwide annually.
LSS results from the narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back, compressing the spinal cord and nerves. This leads to leg pain, cramping, sensations of aching or burning, numbness or tingling in the legs and feet, and difficulties in foot movement while walking.
Steroid injections are tried as a first-line treatment, along with physical therapy. However, patients with severe cases undergo a procedure called a lumbar laminectomy.
This is a major ‘open-back’ surgery that involves large incisions and removing the bone or tissue that is pressing on the nerves. Full recovery can take up to six months.
Because Grazen had underlying heart conditions, she wasn’t a candidate for typical LSS surgery.
Marcia Grazen (left) had been suffering from debilitating back pain and was searching for alternatives to invasive spinal surgery when a doctor told her about the MILD procedure
Grazen from Buffalo, New York, said she faced severe mobility limitations in her daily life
In searching for alternatives, Grazen and her family discovered Dr Dana Dunleavy, the medical director of Interventional Radiology at Atlas Interventional Radiology, who proposed a minimally invasive back procedure called MILD.
MILD stands for minimally invasive lumbar decompression.
This outpatient procedure is done under just local anesthetic and light sedation through a small incision.
Using specialized tools and X-ray, doctors can remove the tissue compressing the nerves without making large cuts and requiring weeks of down time.
Grazen underwent the MILD procedure in October 2025 and told 2WGRZ that the ‘surgery was very simple and very painless.’
She felt a ‘little bit of pressure’ but it was ‘very easy.’
Just three days after the procedure, she was traveling to see her family in Florida, where she had a ‘painless, great time.’
Grazen said her recovery was almost immediate: ‘I walked out of there saying, “Whoa!” Next day I was up doing what I usually do’
Just three days after the procedure, Grazen was traveling to see her family in Florida, where she had a ‘painless, great time’
Additionally, she said her quality of life has continued to improve thanks to a reduction in pain and increase in mobility.
Grazen added: ‘The recovery was almost immediate, and I think I walked out of there saying, “Whoa!” Next day I was up doing what I usually do.’
Dunleavy said the procedure typically takes about 25 minutes and is growing in popularity, especially where he practices in Western New York.
In searching for alternative treatment, Grazen and her family discovered Dr Dana Dunleavy (pictured)
He said: ‘Almost everyone – even though… it’s gradual improvement – will call the next day and say it’s the first time they can stand up straight.’
He told 2WGRZ that the goal with offering MILD – often to patients who have already tried injection treatments – is to improve their quality of life and reduce dependence on painkillers.
He said: ‘We don’t want the only option to be opioids, right? We know that there’s a tremendous opioid epidemic. If you’re not a surgical candidate, you probably are a candidate for this.’