My Spine - Cervical
Images used with permission from Medtronic
Figure 14.2
These drawings demonstrate the initial steps in performing a laminoplasty. A
laminectomy can be performed in a similar fashion, but is usually performed
slightly differently in that the spinous processes and the laminae are removed
with a combination of instruments, leaving the spinal cord completely open.
In a laminoplasty the laminae are loosened and fixed in a position to allow
the underlying spinal cord freedom.
The reason why the laminae and the spinous processes are retained, is
because it allows the spine to remain relatively stable. One of the complica-
tions of a laminectomy is that if you remove too much of the bone, the spine
may become unstable and necessitate fusion with screws and plates or rods
and bone donation.
In performing a laminoplasty, the laminae on the one side are separated from
the vertebrae by drilling a groove all along the one side, as demonstrated
above. This is called an open door laminoplasty. Sometimes the groove is
made through the spinous process and the laminae is wedged open in the mid-
dle, and this is called a French door laminoplasty.
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