Because conservative treatment is not effective for thoracic spinal stenosis, patients with significant symptoms of thoracic spinal stenosis should undergo surgery as soon as they are diagnosed. So, what can surgery achieve? Can thoracic spinal stenosis be completely cured? In terms of post-operative recovery, the recovery rate of thoracic spinal stenosis is very slow, with an average recovery period of 1-2 years, and the root cause of this phenomenon may be related to the relatively weak blood supply to the thoracic spinal cord. At the same time, the speed of recovery and the degree of recovery are different for different symptoms, for example, the degree of recovery from urinary retention or incontinence is relatively low, and the recovery of those who undergo surgery only after such symptoms appear is relatively unpromising. In terms of factors influencing the postoperative outcome, there are many factors affecting the outcome of thoracic spinal stenosis, including the age of the patient, the severity of the symptoms, the skill level and experience of the surgeon, but a large number of clinical studies have confirmed that the most important influencing factor is the preoperative course of the disease, i.e., the length of the period from the onset of symptoms to the surgery of the patient with thoracic spinal stenosis. It is impossible to trace when thoracic spinal stenosis begins, because it can be completely asymptomatic at the beginning. The results of our study show that the excellent rate of surgery can reach 100% for patients with a preoperative course of less than 3 months and 90% for patients with a preoperative course of 3-6 months; the excellent rate for those with a preoperative course of more than 2 years is only 50%. It can be seen that the preoperative duration of thoracic spinal stenosis has a significant impact on the efficacy of surgery. For those patients with obvious symptoms of thoracic spinal stenosis, it is necessary to make an immediate decision, and the earlier they receive surgery, the greater the hope of recovery. Because thoracic spinal stenosis is relatively rare compared to cervical and lumbar spine related disorders, coupled with the unique anatomical features of the thoracic spine that determine the high surgical risk of the disease, many local spine surgeons view it as a no-go area for surgery. Therefore, for patients with thoracic spinal stenosis, it is important to understand the rules of postoperative recovery and recognize the importance of undergoing surgery as soon as possible, while finding an experienced specialist to perform the surgery is also important to obtain satisfactory results.