Cushnie D, et al. - Researchers sought to determine how symptom duration influence post-operative disability outcomes after decompressive surgery for lumbar degenerative stenosis. They retrieved 478 cases of degenerative lumbar stenosis receiving surgical decompression for neurogenic claudication or radiculopathy from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN) prospective database that includes pre- and post-operative data from 18 tertiary care hospitals. Outcomes revealed less improvement in pain and disability after lumbar stenosis surgery in correlation to longer symptom duration. The findings may assist in guiding consent, surgical planning, and health resource management.