Re: brief definitons

[Guest guest]

Dear Francine,

"Google" is a great search tool for me, it gives you tons of info, then you just read, read, read. I'd type in spinal Decompression, and then Laminectomy. Also look up Stenosis. There are lots of search engines out there, part of having Flatback is getting information and doing the homework, I have reams of info I keep in a binder. We are so lucky to have the internet, so much info at our fingers that years ago we would have had to go to a medical center library to get. I'm still learning, almost 4 years post revision. Good place to start.

Colorado Springs

[ ] brief definitons

I was wondering where I could find defintions for decompression and laminectomy. I'mnot really clear of those terms. ThanksFrancine

[Guest guest]

Hi Francine,

Here is a link to an article that may help you understand the

discussion:

http://www.spine-health.com/Topics/surg/overview/lumbar/lumb04.html

You might want to know that many of us were told that for those of us

with long fusions this surgery can create a less stable spine and

further surgery will almost always be necessary at some point in the

future. I think DrLaGrone told Kam that it actually could make it

harder to sucessfully perform a later surgery. Anway, the point is

that the info in this article relates to the general population, not

necessarily us old HR types.

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

Hi Francine...

I didn’t look at the link that Cam has provided, but in case it doesn’t make it clear, I believe that laminectomies and decompressions are essentially the same thing. They involve removing some of the posterior elements of the spine to allow room for the spinal cord.

I have also been told by more than one of the top revision surgeons, that this surgery can cause destablization of the spine, making it harder to perform a full revision later.

You can view a complete animation of a decompression procedure here:

http://www.understandspinesurgery.com/

Click on “Understand spine surgery” in the blue bar.

Enter the ZIP code 94143

Click on P. Ames

Click on SPINE in the bottom left-hand corner of the black box

Click on STENOSIS (under conditions)

Click on LUMBAR LAMINECTOMY

The video will start playing. You’ll need to click on CONTINUE after it shows you each step.

Regards,

Regards,

On 10/2/06 1:40 PM, " cammaltby " <cammaltby@...> wrote:

Hi Francine,

Here is a link to an article that may help you understand the

discussion:

http://www.spine-health.com/Topics/surg/overview/lumbar/lumb04.html

You might want to know that many of us were told that for those of us

with long fusions this surgery can create a less stable spine and

further surgery will almost always be necessary at some point in the

future. I think DrLaGrone told Kam that it actually could make it

harder to sucessfully perform a later surgery. Anway, the point is

that the info in this article relates to the general population, not

necessarily us old HR types.

Take Care, Cam