Your surgeon may recommend foraminotomy, laminectomy, or spinal fusion to alleviate pain due to stenosis. Surgery will be carried out under general anesthesia. In foraminotomy, your surgeon makes an incision in your back, and separates the underlying layer of muscles and ligaments. Then, the neural foramina is widened by cutting or shaving off some of the bone. In addition, other parts such as the lamina, the bone that forms a crest-like structure, may also be removed by a process called laminectomy. After this, your surgeon may perform spinal fusion to ensure that the spinal column is stable after surgery.
In the spinal fusion procedure, your surgeon uses bone graft taken from another part of the body or a synthetic bone substitute to join two or more vertebral bones together with rods, cages or screws so that there is no movement between them. The muscles and ligaments are put back into place and the incision is sutured. Constriction of the spinal canal in spinal stenosis causes pinching of the spinal nerves, which occurs as a result of spinal wear and tear due to aging. It leads to pain, which can make standing, walking, and other activities difficult to perform. Considerable relief from pain and other symptoms can be achieved through either conservative treatment, or surgery.
