Cervical laminectomy and fusion are performed through an incision on the back of your neck. This procedure involves fully or partially removing bone, including bone spurs, that covers and surrounds the spinal cord and spinal nerves. This is done to enlarge the space for the spinal cord and/or nerves. The goal of the procedure is to relieve pressure on (compression of) the cord or nerves. Your surgeon will then perform a spinal fusion in order to stabilize the spine. This procedure usually includes the placement of stabilization devices such as metal screws and rods to help hold the spinal bones (vertebrae) together. Your surgeon will also place natural or synthetic bone material to assist in the healing process.
Your surgeon will make an incision along the midline at the back of the neck. After exposing the spine, he/she will use surgical instruments to remove bones called the spinous process and the lamina, as well as any bone spurs, from the affected vertebrae. Another variation of this step involves using a motorized instrument to cut a trough through the lamina on both sides of the vertebra and remove the lamina and spinous process as a single piece.
A motorized instrument called a burr is used to remove the top layer of the spine joints at the sides of the vertebrae to prepare a site for fusing the vertebrae. The fusion is intended to stabilize the spine where bone was removed.
Your surgeon will place bone material, which can be your own bone that was removed earlier in the procedure, processed donor bone from a bone bank, or synthetic bone material. Bone material is placed along the prepared site where the top layer of bone was removed with the intention that it will eventually grow in place, fusing the spinal bones together and helping to provide additional stability in the weeks and months following surgery.
Bone material placed
Your surgeon may also choose to use devices such as metal screws and rods to help add stability. A drill is used to make holes in the bones connecting the back of the vertebrae to the vertebral bodies in the front of the spine. These bones are called lateral masses, and the instrumentation placed into them in this procedure are called lateral mass screws. Rods are inserted and locked into the heads of the screws on both sides to connect them.
Your surgeon will close the incision and dress it with a wound covering at the conclusion of the surgery. Some patients require a cervical collar, or neck brace, for a short period of time after surgery. As with any surgery, spinal surgery carries certain risks. Your surgeon will explain all the possible complications of the surgery, as well as side effects.
Metal screws and rods for stability
