Cervical Laminoplasty: A Review of Indications, Technique and Outcomes

Laminoplasty is a motion-sparing decompression technique for the cervical spine. As the first description was published over 40 years ago, it has been established as an effective treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy. The application of this technique is predicated on maintenance of physiologic sagittal alignment in the cervical spine. Numerous variations of the originally published laminoplasty technique exist and they can be broadly categorized into symmetric or asymmetric canal expansions. Potential complications include chronic neck pain, C5 palsy, and door closure, among others. Recent clinical research suggests sparing the muscle attachments on the C2 and C7 spinous process may improve the incidence of pain. The purpose of this article is to review the indications and contraindications for cervical laminoplasty and evaluate its efficacy based on current literature.