Laminectomy

Alternative Names: Lumbar decompression; Decompressive laminectomy; Spine surgery - laminectomy

Laminectomy is surgery to remove the lamina, part of the bone that makes up a vertebra, or bone spurs in your back. The procedure can take pressure off your spinal nerves or spinal canal.

Description of Procedure

Laminectomy opens up your spinal canal so your spinal nerves have more room. It may be done along with a diskectomy, foraminotomy, and spinal fusion. You will be asleep and feel no pain (general anesthesia).

• You will lie face down on the operating table. The surgeon will make an incision (cut) in the middle of your back or neck.
• The skin, muscles, and ligaments are moved to the side. Your surgeon may use a surgical microscope to see inside your back.
• Part or all of the lamina bones may be removed on both sides of your spine, along with the spinous process, the sharp part of your spine.
• Your surgeon will remove any small disk fragments, bone spurs, or other soft tissue.
• The surgeon may also do a foraminotomy (to widen the opening where nerve roots travel out of the spine) at this time.
• Your surgeon may do a spinal fusion to make sure your spinal column is stable after surgery.
• Surgery takes 1 to 3 hours.

Risks of Laminectomy

Risks for any surgery are:

• Blood clots in the legs that may travel to the lungs
• Breathing problems
• Infection, including in the lungs (pneumonia), bladder, or kidney
• Blood loss
• Heart attack or stroke during surgery
• Reactions to medications

Risks for spine surgery are:

• Infection in wound or 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

If you have spinal fusion, your spinal column above and below the fusion is more likely to give you problems in the future.

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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