How Simple Is a Lumbar Laminectomy Procedure?

spinal stenosis

Undergoing a lumbar laminectomy procedure involves removing a little bit of bone to free up a nerve root that is getting pinched. It is also a procedure that is performed to free up multiple nerve roots that are being pinched as is commonly seen in spinal stenosis.

In the world of spine surgery, undergoing a laminectomy is a minor procedure. Granted, anytime surgery is being done to you it should not be considered minor, but in the scheme of overall magnitude of spine surgery it is in fact considered minor. After having a laminectomy, most patients are able to go home the next day. When you look at who has spinal stenosis, most patients are in an older age range between the 50s to the 80s. Because of this most patients find it is better to stay in the hospital for one night.

What are the reasons that patients need a laminectomy,? Well the first reason as mentioned is spinal stenosis which involves typically arthritis having extra bone and soft tissue formation and causing nerves to get pinched and pain flareup.

With this, what you have is a quality of life decision where patients need to decide if conservative treatments such as physical therapy, pain medications, epidural injections, chiropractic treatment, spinal decompression therapy, are working and if not a laminectomy may be in order. Another reason to undergo a laminectomy is for a herniated disc. A herniated disc procedure does involve removing a little bit of bone in order to safely pull the nerve root that's getting pinched out of the way and remove the piece of disk that has herniated. So in actuality when people undergo a discectomy it really is a laminectomy/discectomy.

As mentioned the most common reason for having a lumbar laminectomy procedure is to fix up nerves that are being compressed due to spinal stenosis. The typical procedures lasts under an hour, however if the procedure is being performed in conjunction with a spinal fusion with screws and rods then that will increase the procedure time and risks substantially.

What are the risks of a lumbar laminectomy?

The risks of undergoing a lumbar laminectomy include the risk of anesthesia complications, bleeding risk, infection, injury to the nerve that is being decompressed, and if too much bone is taken the patient may end up with spinal instability and increased pain. A lot of patients with spinal stenosis have minimal back pain and only leg pain from the pinched nerves. Studies have shown that 50% of patients will end up with back pain and stiffness after a laminectomy procedure. Thankfully it typically is not overly severe.

A laminectomy procedure continues to be the gold standard for a lot of spinal conditions patients suffer from. There are some newer types of minimally invasive surgeries to have a laminectomy performed, and that should be discussed with your surgeon prior to your procedure if one becomes necessary.