You’ll be taken to the operating theatre and made comfortable.
Once in the operating theatre, a member of the hospital staff may give you an antibiotic to reduce your risk of infection after surgery.
Your anaesthetist will insert a cannula into a vein for your anaesthetic, fluid and other drugs.
For a laminectomy, your surgeon will access your spine from your back so you’ll be positioned on your stomach or side. You’ll be unconscious or heavily sedated for your procedure.
You may also need to have a urinary catheter.
Your surgeon will make an incision in your back or neck at the level of the affected vertebra. To access the vertebra, they’ll need to move your muscles aside. Your surgeon will then identify the points where the lamina is impinging on your spinal cord. These parts of the lamina will be removed or trimmed.
If part of an intervertebral disc is squeezing your spinal cord, your surgeon will also trim this away.
Following surgery, your surgeon will close the incision/s using staples or stitches. Some stitches are dissolvable and don’t need to be removed.
Your surgery will take between 1 and 4 hours.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Information is provided by HCF in good faith for the convenience of members. It is not an endorsement or recommendation of any form of treatment nor is it a substitute for medical advice, and you should rely on the advice of your treating doctors in relation to all matters concerning your health. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, however HCF takes no responsibility for any injury, loss, damage or other consequences of the use of this information.