Laminectomy
The lamina is the back portion of the vertebrae that covers the spinal cord in the spinal column. When spinal stenosis occurs, the spinal column becomes narrower, which can put pressure on nerve roots or the spinal cord. This can occur due to herniated discs and degenerative spine conditions, resulting in nerve pain, radiculopathy and myelopathy. Laminectomy is a minimally invasive spinal surgery that removes the lamina to reduce pressure on the nerves to provide relief. DOCS Health offers cervical, thoracic and lumbar laminectomy at our medical center in Los Angeles, CA.
Cervical Laminectomy
Patients with cervical spinal stenosis can experience chronic neck pain as well as radiculopathy symptoms into the shoulders, arms and hands. Cervical laminectomy may be recommended when interventional pain treatments are ineffective. A small incision is made at the back of the neck to remove enough of the lamina to relieve pressure on the nerve roots and spinal cord in the cervical spine.
Thoracic Laminectomy
Thoracic decompression surgery, or a laminectomy, can offer relief from chronic pain in the upper or mid back. The thoracic spine has 12 vertebrae that can be affected by spinal stenosis, resulting in nerve or spinal cord compression. During the laminectomy, some or all of the affected lamina are removed to expand the spinal column to relieve pressure on the nerve roots and spinal cord.
Lumbar Laminectomy
Spinal stenosis and herniated discs are a common issue in the lumbar spine. Decompression surgery in the lumbar spine may be recommended to relieve pressure on the nerve roots that can cause chronic low back pain as well as pain, numbness and weakness in the legs. The incision for a lumbar laminectomy is small, making it minimally invasive for most patients. In some cases, a fusion surgery may be recommended after the laminectomy, if there is instability in the lumbar spine.
Laminectomy can be a useful for procedure for relieving chronic symptoms from spinal stenosis in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. If interventional pain treatments are ineffective for your neck or back pain caused by spinal stenosis, come see us at DOCS Health. We offer spinal decompression surgery at our medical center in Beverly Hills, CA.
Doctors who treat this condition
Unless otherwise indicated, the physician is a member of DOCS Health Medical Group and has medical staff privileges at DOCS Surgery Center, DOCS Surgical Hospital, or both. Physicians denoted with an asterisk (*) are independent physicians who are not part of DOCS Health Medical Group, but do have medical staff privileges at DOCS Surgery Center, DOCS Surgical Hospital, or both.