A decision to have stenosis surgery often depends on whether the patient is suffering from lumbar stenosis (when a spinal nerve root is compressed) or cervical stenosis (when the spinal cord is compressed), and the severity of the patient's symptoms. For spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine, stenosis surgery is usually not recommended unless needed after non-surgical treatments have not provided sufficient pain relief. Most patients with cervical stenosis do not require surgery; however, when progressive spinal cord dysfunction (myelopathy) is present, a surgical opinion is often necessary.
Different stenosis surgeries include but are not limited to laminectomy, corpectomy and X-STOP, all of which are explained in more detail below.
Spinal stenosis refers to a "choking" or compression of the spinal nerve roots or the spinal cord. There are two types of stenosis: lumbar stenosis and cervical stenosis.
Lumbar stenosis occurs when spinal nerve roots in the lower back are compressed. Lumbar spinal stenosis symptoms often including sciatica and/or leg pain while walking.
Depending on the specific symptoms of spinal stenosis, non-surgical spinal stenosis treatments like exercise, NSAIDS and activity modification can often alleviate pain.
Cervical spine surgery is generally performed on an elective basis to treat neck pain from either nerve/spinal cord impingement (decompression surgery) or spinal instability ...
Surgery for spinal stenosis often involves a decompression back surgery, with most types of spinal stenosis surgery sharing several important considerations.