Lumbar Laminectomy

A laminectomy is a spinal surgery to relieve pain and other symptoms caused by stenosis, the narrowing of your spinal canal. During this procedure, a top surgeon removes the laminae or bony roof from your spinal column to relieve pressure on your spinal cord. Any pressure, obstruction or injury to your spinal cord causes extreme pain and other life-altering symptoms.

If you suffer from persistent back pain, seek an early diagnosis of stenosis. If that’s what you have, the longer you wait, the worse it’ll get. Usually due to structural changes in your spine from an injury or disease, spinal canal narrowing may require a surgical solution.

For the best treatment of complicated spinal conditions in New Jersey, find the best spinal physicians at Premier Brain & Spine. This spine surgery center has ten locations, and its spine specialists leverage the most advanced medical technologies for the best treatment outcomes.

Narrowing can occur anywhere along your spine. During the diagnostic tests, your doctor identifies the exact location of the stenosis. If surgery is recommended, your doctor performs a minimally invasive laminectomy procedure or robotic-assisted surgery.

Spine surgeons classify laminectomy procedures as follows:

• Lumbar laminectomy. Spinal stenosis is most common in the lower part of your spine, which comprises five vertebrae linking the thoracic spine to your pelvis. Spinal doctors perform this surgery to relieve spinal pressure, alleviate pain and eliminate weakness in your legs.
• Thoracic laminectomy. If your spinal doctor diagnoses spinal narrowing in the upper or middle part of your spine, a thoracic laminectomy is a possible treatment. The procedure relieves pressure on your spinal cord.
• Cervical laminectomy. This is a spinal procedure performed at the back of your neck to address the symptoms of stenosis. The procedure relieves pressure on your cervical spinal cord. The location of the cervical spine makes this a delicate surgery, requiring the expertise of an expert.
• Hemilaminectomy. This procedure removes the lamina at the back of your spine on one side only. This decompressive laminectomy treats your symptoms when you don’t need a full surgery.
• Foraminotomy. During a spinal laminectomy, your spinal doctor can also widen the openings through which the nerve roots leave your spinal canal. A minimally invasive laminectomy and foraminotomy prevents symptoms associated with nerve irritation. It’s commonly done in your lumbar spine.
• Spine stabilization. One of the most effective spinal procedures for stenosis is laminectomy and fusion. A posterior laminectomy and fusion surgery decompresses and stabilizes your spine. The procedure also alleviates symptoms of stenosis, including pain, numbness and muscle weakness.
• Tumor removal. When your doctor identifies a spinal tumor as the cause of your stenosis, a back surgery laminectomy allows your surgeon to remove it. Tumors may be cancerous or non-cancerous, but your doctor removes it either way. Tissue samples are analyzed for cancer.

For complex surgery, only rely on the best spinal surgeons. At this NJ spine center, top spinal specialists use the latest medical technology to treat a range of spinal conditions, including:

• Stenosis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Spondylosis
• Kyphosis

Lumbar, thoracic and cervical laminectomy surgery is an alternative for treatment of stenosis. Reasons you may need laminectomy include:

• Debilitating pain. If you struggle with severe pain that affects your quality of life, your NJ ortho doctor may propose laminectomy surgery to correct your stenosis.
• Surgical alternative. If your doctor has tried conservative treatments that were unsuccessful, such as lifestyle changes, physical therapy, spinal injections, assistive devices and medications, you may need minimally invasive laminectomy procedure.
• Spinal nerve damage. If you continue to experience symptoms of nerve damage, such as incontinence or weakness, tingling and numbness in your legs, arms or shoulder, decompressive surgery relieves the pressure on your spinal cord, eliminating those symptoms.
• Prevention of myelopathy. If you receive a diagnosis of spinal cord compression, early treatment prevents worsening complications, such as myelopathy, weakness, stiffness, pain, numbness and clumsiness. During a laminectomy procedure, your doctor relieves the pressure on your spine, stopping the progression of myelopathy.
• Spinal bone spurs. If you develop osteophytes or abnormal bony growths on your vertebrae, they may make your spinal canal narrower. Spinal laminectomy removes those growths.

Your spinal surgeons at Premier Brain & Spine perform complex surgeries including decompressive lumbar laminectomy, thoracic laminectomy and fusion and posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion. They use the most appropriate procedure to address the underlying cause of your symptoms

Your spine specialist decides on laminectomy spinal surgery based on your diagnosis. During your consultation, you discuss the procedure in detail, including what to expect. Back surgery laminectomy lasts two hours or longer. The procedure takes place in steps, including:

• Preparation. Before the surgery, your doctor asks you to quit smoking and taking any blood-thinning drugs.
• Sedation. For your comfort during the surgery, your surgery team administers general anesthesia, which knocks you out. While you probably get to go home the same day to recover, you’ll need someone to drive you home.
• Laminectomy procedure. The surgeon makes an incision over the targeted vertebrae. The doctor carefully moves any muscles, nerves and other tissues to the side to remove the lamina, bone spurs or tumor to ease pressure on your spinal cord. In extensive procedures, your doctor may perform other complementary procedures.
• Spinal fusion. For added stability to the spine, most procedures also include spinal fusion. Connecting two or more vertebrae stabilize your spine.
• After surgery. The team monitors you in a recovery room. The length of your recovery depends on the extent of the surgery, but you should experience back pain relief and reduced symptoms immediately after the procedure. For the most effective recovery, follow the post-surgery recommendations from your doctor.

If you’re feeling any back pain, contact the spinal specialists at Premier Brain & Spine. This spine pain center has facilities in Hackensack, Paterson, Edison, Union, Rutherford, Bayonne, West Orange, and West Caldwell in New Jersey.

For more information about lumbar laminectomy surgery to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and nerves or to schedule an appointment with an experienced team of spine experts, call us at (866) 590-0601. Alternatively, you can visit our best-rated Spine Care Center in person to discover firsthand why so many of our patients rate us as the best laminectomy surgeons in New Jersey.