Essential Surgical Technique for French-Door (Double-Door) Laminoplasty.

INTRODUCTION

We describe the surgical technique and the pitfalls of French-door laminoplasty.

STEP 1 PATIENT POSITIONING: Position the patient to keep the cervical spine "parallel to the floor" or in the "reverse Trendelenburg position" with only a slight incline and place intraoperative neurological monitors to prevent intraoperative neurological deterioration.

STEP 2 SURGICAL APPROACH: Use the common cervical posterior approach to expose the lamina and ligamentum flavum.

STEP 3 CREATE GROOVES: Cut the center of each lamina and create bilateral grooves using a high-speed burr.

STEP 4 OPEN THE LAMINA: Open the lamina bilaterally and create a small hole in each one using a high-speed burr.

STEP 5 CREATE BONE STRUTS: Create bone struts from the spinous processes and tie them to each lamina.

STEP 6 WOUND CLOSURE: Perform meticulous closure of the wound to avoid wound-healing complications.

RESULTS

In our original study, we treated forty-six patients with French-door laminoplasty and compared the surgical results of this procedure with those of open-door laminoplasty in a prospective, randomized controlled manner.IndicationsContraindicationsPitfalls & Challenges.