Cervical Laminoplasty
Cervical laminaplasty is a surgical procedure that creates more space for the spinal cord and nerve roots to relieve the painful pressure of spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that can result from arthritis [Figure 1]. Cervical stenosis can cause symptoms including neck pain, headache, arm pain, numbness and weakness. If the stenosis leads to pressure on the spinal cord in the neck, patients may also notice difficulties with balance and coordination and in severe case even paralysis. For more information on stenosis, click here to review the section titled “Cervical Spinal Stenosis”.
Figure 1: MRI of the cervical spine showing disc degeneration and herniation causing spinal stenosis (red line) and compression of spinal cord (red arrow).
Laminaplasty is a motion preserving surgery, meaning that no fusion is performed and the motion of the neck is not altered. During surgery, the surgeons at the Virginia Spine Institute carefully cut all the way through the lamina (the bone roof covering the spinal cord). This allows the vertebrae to open like a door, thus creating more space in the spinal canal, immediately relieving pressure from the spinal cord and nerve roots [Figure 2]. The surgeon examines the spinal canal and removes any bone spurs and other sources of compression. In some cases, screws and tiny metal implants secure the vertebrae and bone wedges to keep the space around the spinal cord open [Figure 3,4]. A soft cervical collar may be used for a short time after surgery, but neck motion is allowed immediately after surgery.
Figure 2: MRI of the cervical spine before (left) and after (right) cervical laminaplasty showing improvement in the spinal stenosis.
Figure 3: Diagram showing tiny metal plates used to hold the laminaplasty “door”
open and preserve space around the spinal cord.
Figure 4: X-rays of a patient taken before and 2 years after cervical laminaplasty.
