Patent ID: 7942830

Claim:
A method for treating stenosis in a spine of a patient having a median plane, the spine including a spinal canal having a posterior surface, a dural sac and an epidural space between the posterior surface and dural sac, the location of the stenosis determining a region of interest in the spine, comprising the steps of: a) generating at least one view of a portion of the spinal canal in the region of interest; b) compressing the dural sac in the region of interest by injecting a fluid to form a safety zone and establish a working zone in the region of interest, the safety zone lying generally between the working zone and the dural sac; c) percutaneously accessing the region of interest on a first lateral side of the median plane via a tool trajectory that passes generally between a lamina of a superior first vertebra and a lamina of an inferior second vertebra and generally between the two superior articular processes of the inferior second vertebra, wherein the first and second vertebra are adjacent; d) inserting a tissue removal tool into tissue in the working zone on the first lateral side of the median plane via the tool trajectory; e) using the tissue removal tool to percutaneously reduce the stenosis on the first lateral side of the median plane; and f) utilizing the at least one view to position the tissue removal tool during at least a part of step d) and at least part of step e).