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A lamina is rarely, if ever, removed because it itself is diseased. Instead, removal is done to:
(1) break the continuity of the rigid ring of the spinal canal to allow the soft tissues within the canal to expand (decompression), or
(2) as one step in changing the contour of the vertebral column, or
(3) in order to allow the surgeon access to deeper tissues inside the spinal canal.
Laminectomy is also the name of a spinal operation that conventionally includes the removal of one or both lamina as well as other posterior supporting structures of the vertebral column, including ligaments and additional bone.
Conventional open laminectomy often involves excision of the posterior spinal ligament, and some or all of the spinous process, and facet joint. Removal of these structures, in the open technique, requires cutting the many muscles of the back which attach to them. Laminectomy performed as a minimal spinal surgery procedure, however, allows the bellies of muscles to be pushed aside instead of transected, and generally involves less bone removal than the open procedure.
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