The injudicious laminectomy

This report is an attempt to point out a hazard of what would be otherwise competent treatment of acquired spinal stenosis, namely laminectomy and facetectomy, in a small group of patients who are osteoporotic and who also have a "minor" compression fracture in the area in which the surgery is contemplated. Three patients who had such laminectomies, with disastrous results, are presented, along with one patient who, instead, had internal fixation and fusion at the time of laminectomy with an excellent result. The latter approach is recommended in such cases.