Laminotomy

A laminotomy is an orthopaedic neurosurgical procedure that removes part of a lamina of the vertebral arch in order to decompress the corresponding spinal cord and/or spinal nerve root.

This was originally performed as a hemilaminectomy, consisting in the removal of either the left or right half of the lamina, but is now more commonly carried out as the removal of a portion of both sides of the lamina (while retaining the rest to preserve vertebral stability as much as possible). Laminotomy is also often accompanied by facetectomy.