Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine if surgical treatment for spinal stenosis is comparable to total hip arthroplasty in improving patients’ self-reported quality of life.

Methods: An age, sex and time of surgery matched cohort of patients who had undergone elective primary 1–2 level spinal decompression (n=90) with (n=30/90) or without fusion for spinal stenosis (n=40 with degenerative spondylolisthesis) and elective primary total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis (n=90) were compared. The primary outcome measure was the preoperative and one year postoperative Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire.

Results: The mean Physical Component Summary (PCS) / Mental Component Summary (MCS) for the stenosis compared to hip patients were 32.0/43.3 vs. 30.5/46.2 preoperatively (analysis between groups: p = 0.2/0.1) and 39.1/47.3 vs.44.1/46.1 postoperatively (analysis between groups: p = 0.003/0.4). The pre- and postoperative PCS significantly improved for both groups (p < 0.0001);however, the pre- and postoperative MCS improved in the stenosis group only (p = 0.04).

Conclusions: Studies have shown the significant impact on overall patient quality of life and cost-effectiveness of primary total hip arthroplasty. The results of this unique study show that surgical intervention for spinal stenosis also has a very positive overall effect on patients’ self-reported quality of life at one year follow up. This study provides data that supports the need for a long term prospective study and advocacy regarding waiting time initiatives and surgical resources for the treatment of patients with symptomatic spinal stenosis with a similar demographic to those with primary OA of the hip.