What type of surgery is used to treat spinal stenosis?
The purpose of surgery to treat spinal stenosis is to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots. Decompressive laminectomy is major surgery to remove bone (parts of the vertebrae) and/or thickened tissue that is narrowing the spinal canal and squeezing the spinal cord and spinal nerve roots. This procedure is done by surgically cutting into the back. In some cases, spinal fusion (arthrodesis) may be done at the same time to help stabilize sections of the spine treated with laminectomy. Spinal fusion techniques vary from what type of bone or metal implants are used to whether the surgery is done from the front (anterior) or back (posterior) of the body.
