UNILATERAL LAMINOTOMY FOR BILATERAL MICRODECOMPRESSION OF STENOSIS OF THE LUMBAR CANAL

With the aging of the world population, the treatment of stenosis of the lumbar canal has become an important issue in addressing degenerative diseases of the spine. The prevalence of this disease tends to increase as the number of surgeries and the impact on health care costs. This paper aims to describe in detail the technique of unilateral laminotomy for bilateral microdecompression (ULBM) of stenosis of the lumbar canal (LSC) and current clinical results, including their advantages, disadvantages and common complications, based on the available literature. Important studies have shown evidence that surgical treatment for LSC is more effective than the conservative, but without evaluating ULBM. Several studies on ULBM have been conducted since the 90s, showing the results of this technique, however, most of these are case series, retrospective studies or cohorts without proper control group or with weak statistical analysis to prove some evidence. A double-blind randomized clinical trial was found, but with short follow-up. We conclude that studies are needed with more solid evidence to prove the effectiveness of ULBM despite the clinical results being similar to those of classical surgery found in the literature.