Foraminotomy

Alternative Names: Intervertebral foramina; Spine surgery - foraminotomy

Foraminotomy is surgery that widens the opening in your back where nerve roots leave your spinal canal. You may have a narrowing of the nerve opening (foraminal stenosis).

Description of Procedure

Foraminotomy takes pressure off of a nerve in your spinal column and allows it to move more easily. It may be performed on any level of the spine. You will be asleep and feel no pain (general anesthesia).

• You will lie face down on the operating table. A cut (incision) is made in the middle of the back of your spine. The length of the incision depends on how much of your spinal column will be operated on.
• Skin, muscles, and ligaments are moved to the side. Your surgeon may use a surgical microscope to see inside your back.
• Some bone is cut or shaved away to open the nerve root opening (foramen). Any disk fragments are removed. Other bone may also be removed at the back of the vertebrae to make more room.
• If your surgeon is worried that your spine will not be stable after the bone has been removed, you may also need to have spinal fusion.
• The muscles and other tissues are put back in place, and the skin is sewn together.

Risks of Foraminotomy

Risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Breathing problems

Risks for any surgery are:

• Bleeding
• Infection in wound or for vertebral bones
• Damage to a spinal nerve, causing weakness, pain, or loss of feeling
• Partial or no relief of pain after surgery
• A return of back pain in the future
• Thrombophlebitis

Review Date: 12/20/2010
Reviewed By: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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