Neurosurgeon
Neurosurgeon
Treatment / Procedures / Lumbar Laminectomy
The most reliable treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis. Removes the lamina to free compressed nerves causing leg pain, weakness, and trouble walking. Minimally invasive option available. Niceville, Florida.
Lumbar laminectomy removes the back wall of the spinal canal to create room for crowded nerve roots, reliably relieving the leg pain and walking limits caused by lumbar stenosis.
Lumbar laminectomy removes the lamina, the bony arch forming the back wall of the spinal canal, at one or more levels to create more room for crowded nerve roots. It is the most common and most reliable treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis causing the classic pattern of leg pain, cramping, and weakness that comes on with walking and eases with sitting.
The procedure can be done open through a midline incision or with a minimally invasive tubular technique through one or two small incisions. The minimally invasive approach preserves more of the supporting structures and muscle, which reduces destabilization and speeds recovery while achieving the same decompression.
Dr. Enguidanos performs both open and minimally invasive lumbar laminectomy at HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital and Emerald Coast Surgical Center in Niceville, Florida, choosing the approach based on the number of levels, the presence of instability, and patient-specific factors.
Lumbar laminectomy is recommended only after appropriate non-surgical care has not resolved the problem, unless there is an urgent indication. Physical therapy, medication, activity changes, and epidural injections are evaluated first.
Many patients improve without surgery. When leg symptoms persist and limit walking despite conservative care, laminectomy reliably relieves the compression.
The patient is positioned face down. In the open approach, a midline incision exposes the back of the spine. In the minimally invasive approach, a tubular retractor docks at the affected level through a small incision under imaging guidance. The lamina and the thickened ligament behind the nerves are removed.
The medial part of the facet joints may be trimmed to widen the channels where the nerves exit, while the outer part is preserved to keep the spine stable. The nerve roots are traced and confirmed free. Minimally invasive single-level cases are frequently same-day surgery.
Laminectomy is one of several ways to relieve lumbar nerve compression. The right choice depends on whether the spine is stable and what is causing the crowding.
Every patient who walks through our door follows the same path. It starts with listening and ends only at surgery if nothing else works.
Dr. Enguidanos meets with you personally. He reviews your imaging, takes your full history, and listens carefully to your lifestyle, your goals, and what has and has not worked so far.
In-person with Dr. EnguidanosSurgery is never the first answer. Before any procedure is considered, every appropriate non-surgical option is explored — physical therapy, medication management, injections, and regenerative medicine.
Physical therapy, injections, regenerative medicineWhen conservative care has been exhausted and surgery is the right answer, Dr. Enguidanos applies thirty years of surgical depth. From minimally invasive procedures to complex deformity reconstruction, every level is handled.
Only when everything else has been consideredDR. STEPHEN T. ENGUIDANOS MD | SPINE SURGERY | NICEVILLE, FL
Your information is private and will never be shared.
DR. STEPHEN T. ENGUIDANOS MD | SPINE SURGERY | NICEVILLE, FL
Your information is private and will never be shared.