Archus Orthopedics

TFAS is designed to provide stability without sacrificing function.

Sixty-five million American live each day with chronic back or leg pain. Surgery is considered a last resort because patients lose their ability to move normally. But there's a new option made by a local company being tested in Seattle.

Russ Spencer used to avoid walking anywhere if he could possibly avoid it. The pain was just too great.

“You don't go to a movie, you don't go to a mall, I wouldn't do anything,” he said.

Russ has spinal stenosis, a degenerative condition where the backbone compresses and begins to pinch down on the spinal nerves. The symptoms are unmistakable.

“Pain in the back and or down the legs, especially when they are walking,” explained Dr. John Hsiang, Swedish Medical Center.

For severe cases, treatment is usually a spinal fusion, where rods are screwed in to stabilize the back. But that limits movement and puts extra stress on the neighboring vertebrae, so they begin to deteriorate as well.

Now Seattle neurosurgeon John Hsiang is testing a new device called the TFAS, made by a Redmond company.

It's designed to provide stability without sacrificing function.

Russ had his surgery in December.

“Movements great, no pain, no numbness,” he said.

In early clinical trials, results have been encouraging. However, the big question remains: How well will this device hold up to normal wear and tear?

“We do not know after five years or ten years what will happen,” said Hsian.

But for Russ it's meant getting his life back after years of living with chronic pain.

The trial is currently recruiting patients. Two thirds will receive the TFAS device, the other third will get standard spinal fusion. The selection process is random.

Two local sites are participating in the trial: Seattle Neuroscience Institute at Swedish Medical Center and Orthopedics International.