Laminectomy is surgery to remove the lamina, two small bones that make up a vertebra, or bone spurs in your back. The procedure can take pressure off your spinal nerves or spinal column.

Laminectomy opens up your spinal canal so your spinal nerves have more room. It is usually 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.

Laminectomy is often done to treat spinal stenosis. The procedure removes bones and damaged disks, and makes more room for your spinal nerve and column.

Your symptoms may be:

• Pain or numbness in one or both legs. You may feel weakness or heaviness in your buttocks or legs. You may have problems emptying or controlling your bladder and bowel.
• You are more likely to have symptoms, or worse symptoms, when you are standing or walking.

You and your doctor can decide when you need to have surgery for these symptoms. Spinal stenosis symptoms often become worse over time, but this may happen very slowly.

When your symptoms become more severe and interfere with your daily life or your job, surgery may help.

You will have an MRI before surgery that shows you have spinal stenosis.