Laminectomy for herniated intervertebral disc.

In a study of 59 patients surgically treated by various surgeons for relief of herniated lumbar intervertebral disc accompanied by symptoms that persistently recurred or had become resistant to conservative therapy, it was noted from review of hospital and office records that laminectomy either greatly relieved or entirely abated symptoms in 83 per cent of the cases. Postoperative complications reported by the surgeons who did the operations consisted of one death and five wound infections. Contrast myelography and electromyography, used in almost all cases in the series, appeared to be valuable adjuncts in the diagnosis of herniated lumbar intervertebral discs. The most common site of the lesion in this series was between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. Strain upon lifting was the most commonly reported precipitating factor.