The majority of the abnormal anatomy producing spinal nerveand/or cord compression is located anteriorly to (in front of) the spinal cord itself. This is only indirectly addressed by a posterior cervical laminectomy. In fact, chronic spinal instability exacerbating the disease process may be caused by cervical laminectomy. In addition, a thick fibrous scar forms at the operative site in the postoperative period, at times replacing the bony compression and reproducing the original symptoms after an extended postoperative period.
For these reasons, many surgeons prefer either anterior decompression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, or an adaptation of laminectomy known as laminoplasty or laminectomy and fusion, depending on the patient's anatomy.
