Laminectomy complications

Laminectomy wound infection.

Epidural fibrosis and epidural adhesion after laminectomy are developed from adjacent dense scar tissue, which is a natural wound healing process 1) 2) 3) 4) , and ranked as the major contributor for postoperative pain recurrence after laminectomy or discectomy.


Posterior midline laminectomy is associated with risks of postoperative instability, spinal deformity, extensive bilateral subperiosteal muscle stripping, partial or total facetectomy especially in foraminal tumor extension, increased cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and wound infection. Minimally invasive approaches with the help of a microscope or endoscope using hemilaminectomy have been found to be safe and effective 5).

1)
Alkalay RN, Kim DH, Urry DW, Xu J, Parker TM, Glazer PA. Prevention of postlaminectomy epidural fibrosis using bioelastic materials. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2003;28:1659–1665.
2)
Hsu CJ, Chou WY, Teng HP, Chang WN, Chou YJ. Coralline hydroxyapatite and laminectomy-derived bone as adjuvant graft material for lumbar posterolateral fusion. J Neurosurg Spine. 2005;3:271–275.
3)
Temel SG, Ozturk C, Temiz A, Ersozlu S, Aydinli U. A new material for prevention of epidural fibrosis after laminectomy: oxidized regenerated cellulose (interceed), an absorbable barrier. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2006;19:270–275.
4)
Yu CH, Lee JH, Baek HR, Nam H. The effectiveness of poloxamer 407-based new anti-adhesive material in a laminectomy model in rats. Eur Spine J. 2012;21:971–979.
5)
Parihar VS, Yadav N, Yadav YR, Ratre S, Bajaj J, Kher Y. Endoscopic Management of Spinal Intradural Extramedullary Tumors. J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2016 Dec 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27951615.