A 90-year-old New York woman says a minimally invasive medical procedure has transformed her daily life after years of back pain that left her struggling to walk or even stand.
Marcia Grazen said the pain had become so limiting that ordinary movement was difficult, affecting nearly every part of her routine.
Speaking to local outlet 2WGRZ, she recalled: “Life was very hard for me because I could not walk without pain [and] standing was very, very hard. My legs hurt a lot. They were pained a lot – and my lower back, the lumbar area, was very sore.”
Grazen had been living with lumbar spinal stenosis, or LSS, a condition that affects an estimated 100 million people around the world each year.
LSS occurs when the spinal canal in the lower back narrows, placing pressure on the spinal cord and nearby nerves. The condition can lead to leg pain, cramping, aching or burning sensations, numbness or tingling in the legs and feet, and trouble lifting the feet while walking.
Doctors often begin treatment with physical therapy and steroid injections. For more serious cases, however, patients may be advised to undergo a lumbar laminectomy.
That operation is a major “open-back” surgery involving large incisions and the removal of bone or tissue pressing on the nerves. Recovery can take as long as six months.
For Grazen, traditional surgery was not an option because of underlying heart conditions, making her a poor candidate for the standard LSS procedure.
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.’
