Seventeen level laminectomy for extensive spinal epidural abscess: case report and review

Several studies have suggested that non-operative treatment be employed for spinal epidural abscesses involving a considerable length of the vertebral column. The reasons for this have not been clearly stated in the literature, however, nor has the critical number of vertebral levels been specified. Presumably, this is related to the morbidity of extensive laminectomy, but we began to question this assumption because of advances in surgical instrumentation combined with frequent reports of irreversible disease progression while on appropriate antibiotics. In this article, we present a case of an extensive spinal epidural abscess managed surgically with no associated morbidity. In addition, we present a review of the literature concerning spinal epidural abscess.