Laminectomy
Laminectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a portion of the vertebral bone. This is done to relive the pressure on the nerve roots. The lamina is the vertebral bone that is operated upon so as to reduce pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots. Spinal stenosis usually affects older persons due to degeneration and subsequent enlargement of the facet joints. This leads to acute pain. Laminectomy is also performed to treat conditions such as herniated disks and spondylolisthesis. A patient may need to spend a few days in the hospital and will require physio therapy for embarking on activities such as sitting, standing and walking. In some cases there can be complications such as nerve damage, spinal fluid leak, worsening back pain and bleeding.
MRI scan
During a MRI scan, pictures of almost all the tissue in the body are taken. The tissue that has the least hydrogen atoms, such as the bones turns out dark. The tissues that have many hydrogen atoms, such as fatty tissue looks much brighter. The timing of the radio wave pulses is constantly changed to gain information about the different types of tissues present. An MRI scan is normally used as an extremely accurate method of disease detection and structural abnormalities throughout the body.
Patient with any metallic materials within the body must notify their physician prior to the MRI scan. This is because, metallic chips, materials, metal implants, surgical clips or foreign materials (artificial joints, metallic bone plates or prosthetic devices, etc) can significantly distort the images obtained by an MRI scanner. Patients with pacemakers, metal chips or clips in and around the eyeballs cannot be scanned by an MRI because of the risk that the magnet may move the metal in these areas. Patients with artificial heart valves, metallic ear implants, bullet fragments and chemotherapy or insulin pumps should not undergo MRI scanning.
MRI scan can cause a small risk to the fetus in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Therefore scans are not performed on pregnant women. The MRI machine produces loud thumping and humming noise when the procedure is performed. Therefore ear plugs are usually given to the patients to reduce the noise. MRI scans are a useful aid in the assessment of certain back conditions. MRI is an aid to detail studies of nerve root injuries like lumbar disc herniation and lumbar spinal stenosis. It is also extensively used in spinal disc and lumbar disc diseases and isthmic spondylolisthesis. It is also useful to rule out tumors and spinal infections.
Bibliography / Reference
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