I have stenosis, arthritis and a bulging disc at L4-L5. Immediately after surgery at the Laser Spine institute it appeared my pain had decreased however, within two months the pain was back. A year after the surgery I had an MRI which showed no difference compared to the MRI which had been done prior to the surgery. Since then I had traditional decompression surgery and the difference was night and day. It's been two years and I am still in a much better way. I don't wake up with pain as I did before and after the LSI surgery nor is it anywhere as severe as it was before. I would seriously consider traditional surgery before jumping into anything at the Laser Spine Institute. Do your homework and look for a good surgeon rather than a good marketing campaign.