﻿ Laminectomy | Providence


The specialists at Providence strive to minimize your back pain and spinal stenosis to help you take back control of your health. Fortunately, with new and advanced surgical procedures and spinal treatments, we can precisely detect and locate the cause of spinal compression and remedy back pain with a laminectomy. 


A laminectomy, sometimes called a spinal decompression, is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the lamina from specific regions of the spinal column.

Often due to bone spurs or herniated disks, the nerve roots of the spinal cord push up against different parts of the spinal column, including the lamina. This pressure on the nerve roots and the spinal cord is known as spinal stenosis and causes intense pain.

By removing the lamina, a laminectomy increases the size of the spinal canal, helping relieve the source of pressure and compression, effectively eliminating the pain caused by spinal stenosis.

A laminectomy can be performed on all regions (lumbar, thoracic and cervical) of the spinal column to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or the nerve roots. The most common procedure is a lumbar laminectomy.

Before the procedure, your doctors will take X-ray images of your spine to locate part of the spine afflicted by spinal stenosis. The results will determine which vertebrae to operate on.

Before the procedure, you will receive an IV for antibiotics, as well as a catheter to control urine. Depending on your specific health condition, you will be given either general or spinal anesthesia.

You will be asked to lie on your stomach as a small incision is made over the correct vertebrae in your spine. Dilators are used to create a corridor into the vertebrae, so that other muscles and ligaments remain untouched and unharmed throughout the operation.

A special bone drill is used to remove your lamina at the site of nerve compression. Once the lamina is removed, your surgeon will inspect your spine to ensure all pressure to your spinal canal is relieved.

After the operation, you will be monitored by your caregiving staff and will be asked to walk as soon as you feel comfortable, in order to ensure the procedure is a success. Most patients are able to leave the hospital on the day of their operation.

Because the procedure only removes the lamina affected by spinal stenosis, patients are often satisfied with their spinal health post-operation. Still, some complications may arise depending on your specific health conditions.
