Post laminectomy syndrome is a catch-all term for failure of surgery to relieve pain. An open laminectomy with a large incision does not necessarily mean that the surgery was done improperly but that the surgeon is probably from the “old school” where the philosophy was “incisions heal side by side” and it did not matter how long the incision was.
A full laminectomy does not generally create instability of the spine. The spinous process is removed but the facets are generally left intact which are the main stabilizing processes (other than the disc). A microdiscectomy is a much “smaller” surgery with only a very small portion of the lamina removed (laminotomy) and the approach is from only one side. The laminectomy is performed from both sides.
Your spine could be unstable but that term is used for a number of different pathologies. True instability is the inability of the spine to maintain normal anatomical relationships with forces that cause shear, torsion and flexion/extension.
Pain generation could be from instability, foraminal stenosis, lateral recess stenosis, degenerative disc disease, isolated disc resorption, or chronic radiculopathy. See the website for description of each.
Spinal fusion- if needed, might be your answer but a thorough workup needs to be performed to determine the cause of your pain. As to complications of fusion, look to the website for “complications” for a good description.
Dr. Corenman
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.