So you need a laminectomy? It’s a big word – can sound intimidating, Let’s break it down so you know what you are facing.
According to the Mayo Clinic: “Laminectomy is surgery that creates space by removing the lamina — the back part of a vertebra that covers your spinal canal. Also known as decompression surgery, laminectomy enlarges your spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.”
If you need a laminectomy, chances are you are dealing with some type of arthritis. It’s nothing you did wrong, as many people struggle with this condition as an effect of aging. While some are able to overcome with therapy, injections, and medicine, a laminectomy is necessary when these remedies fail.
The bony overgrowth in the spine, caused by arthritis, causes pressure, pain, weakness, and numbness around the nerves in the spinal cord. This can radiate down the arms and legs, causing debilitating circumstances.
Thankfully, this procedure is available and common. Healthline.com offers this step-by-step explanation of what your doctor will do during the laminectomy here:
1. Clean the skin over the surgical site with an antiseptic solution to help prevent a bacterial infection
2. Make a small incision, or cut, in the middle of your back or neck
3. Move your skin, muscles, and ligaments to the side to get a better view
4. Remove part or all of the lamina bones on your spine
5. Remove bone spurs or small disk fragments
6. Close the incision with stitches
7. Cover the incision with sterile bandages
There are always risks to surgery, but the benefits can be invaluable for your quality of life. A testimony from one of Spinal Champions® :
“Since the healing took place I’ve been able to work out, ride my bike, and do my job without the wincing pain that had so often been part of my life the past decade.”
Talk to your doctor about options to finding pain relief. A laminectomy may be the answer.
