magazinelogo

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine Research

ISSN Online: 2575-7970 ISSN Print: 2575-7989 CODEN: IJCEMH
Frequency: bimonthly Email: ijcemr@hillpublisher.com
Total View: 3143975 Downloads: 697187 Citations: 301 (From Dimensions)
ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijcemr.2026.07.004

Unilateral Hemilaminectomy Lamina Resection for the Treatment of Intraspinal Masses

Xiaojun Ou, Gaoming Huang, Hua Zhou*

Department of Neurosurgery, The First People's Hospital of Aksu Region, Aksu 843000, Xinjiang, China.

*Corresponding author: Hua Zhou

Published: June 23, 2026

Abstract

Objective: Retrospective analysis of the experience in removing intraspinal space-occupying lesions through the hemilaminectomy approach. Methods: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent intraspinal space-occupying lesion resection via the hemilaminectomy approach under a microscope at our center from January 2020 to April 2025. The success rate of tumor resection and postoperative spinal stability was evaluated, and the postoperative complications were continuously monitored and observed. Results: Among these 13 patients, 1 case was located in the cervical vertebra, 5cases in the thoracic vertebra, and 7 cases in the lumbar vertebra. Two of the patients under-went a hemilaminectomy with expanded resection due to intradural-extramedullary communicating tumors. The average operation time was 4.5 hours, and the average blood loss was 238ml.  During the operation, we usually remove the base of the spinous process to achieve maximum visualization and exposure of the tumor under the microscope. The postoperative CT re-examination showed that the unopened sides of the spinous processes in all cases were not damaged, but the facet joint surfaces of 2 patients who underwent laminectomy with expanded lamina were damaged. At the last follow-up, no significant changes in spinal stability were observed in all patients, and no signs of tumor recurrence were found on imaging. Conclusion: The hemilaminectomy approach under the microscope is a safe and effective method for treating intraspinal space-occupying lesions. Due to the hemilaminectomy approach, the range of bone structures removed during the surgery is narrow. Therefore, the operation time is longer than that of the conventional total laminectomy. However, with the continuous accumulation of treatment experience, this surgical method may become easier.

Keyword

Intraspinal space-occupying lesions; microsurgical surgery; hemilaminar approach

References

[1] Masaryk TJ. Neoplastic disease of the spine. Radiol Clin North Am. 1991;29(4):829-845.

[2] Mobbs RJ, Maharaj MM, Phan K, Rao PJ. Unilateral hemilaminectomy for intradural lesions. Orthop Surg. 2015;7(3):244-249.

[3] Said W, Maragno E, Leibrandt L, Spille D, Schipmann S, Stummer W, et al. A retrospective cohort study evaluating the comparative effectiveness of unilateral hemilaminectomy and bilateral laminectomy in the resection of spinal meningiomas. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown). 2024;26(6):685-694.

[4] Chen X, Han D, Mao T, Xu H, Guo H, Ge H, et al. Unilateral hemilaminectomy vs. laminoplasty for the resection of spinal schwannomas: an analysis of 100 patients. Front Neurol. 2024;15:1383980.

[5] Zeng Y, Huang Z, Huang Z, Cheng Y, Zhu Q, Ji W, et al. Ipsilateral fixation and reconstruction of the cervical spine after resection of a dumbbell tumor via a unilateral posterior approach: a case report and biomechanical study. Orthop Surg. 2023;15(9):2435-2444.

[6] Yaşargil MG, Tranmer BI, Adamson TE, Roth P. Unilateral partial hemi-laminectomy for the removal of extra- and intramedullary tumours and AVMs. Adv Tech Stand Neurosurg. 1991;18:113-132.

[7] Xie T, Qian J, Lu Y, Chen B, Jiang Y, Luo C. Biomechanical comparison of laminectomy, hemilaminectomy and a new minimally invasive approach in the surgical treatment of multilevel cervical intradural tumour: a finite element analysis. Eur Spine J. 2013;22(12):2719-2730.

[8] Ogden AT, Bresnahan L, Smith JS, Natarajan R, Fessler RG. Biomechanical comparison of traditional and minimally invasive intradural tumor exposures using finite element analysis. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2009;24(2):143-147.

[9] Helseth A, Mørk SJ. Primary intraspinal neoplasms in Norway, 1955 to 1986. A population-based survey of 467 patients. J Neurosurg. 1989;71(6):842-845.

[10] Sebai MA, Kerezoudis P, Alvi MA, Yoon JW, Spinner RJ, Bydon M. Need for arthrodesis following facetectomy for spinal peripheral nerve sheath tumors: an institutional experience and review of the current literature. J Neurosurg Spine. 2019;31(1): 112-122.

[11] Raysi Dehcordi S, Marzi S, Ricci A, Di Cola F, Galzio RJ. Less invasive approaches for the treatment of cervical schwannomas: our experience. Eur Spine J. 2012;21(5):887-896.

[12] Raab P, Juergen K, Gloger H, Soerensen N, Wild A. Spinal deformity after multilevel osteoplastic laminotomy. Int Orthop. 2008;32(3):355-359.

[13] Papagelopoulos PJ, Peterson HA, Ebersold MJ, Emmanuel PR, Choudhury SN, Quast LM. Spinal column deformity and instability after lumbar or thoracolumbar laminectomy for intraspinal tumors in children and young adults. Spine. 1997;22(4):442-451.

[14] Cervoni L, Celli P, Cantore G, Fortuna A. Intradural tumors of the cauda equina: a single institution review of clinical characteristics. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 1995;97(1):8-12.

[15] Chiou SM, Eggert HR, Laborde G, Seeger W. Microsurgical unilateral approaches for spinal tumour surgery: eight years’ experience in 256 primary operated patients. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 1989;100(3-4):127-133.

[16] Oktem IS, Akdemir H, Kurtsoy A, Koç RK, Menkü A, Tucer B. Hemilaminectomy for the removal of the spinal lesions. Spinal Cord. 2000;38(2):92-96.

[17] Tredway TL, Santiago P, Hrubes MR, Song JK, Christie SD, Fessler RG. Minimally invasive resection of intradural-extramedullary spinal neoplasms. Neurosurgery. 2006;58(1 Suppl):ONS52-58; discussion ONS52-58.

[18] Gu R, Liu JB, Xia P, Li C, Liu GY, Wang JC. Evaluation of hemilaminectomy use in microsurgical resection of intradural extramedullary tumors. Oncol Lett. 2014;7(5):1669-1672.

[19] Koch-Wiewrodt D, Wagner W, Perneczky A. Unilateral multilevel interlaminar fenestration instead of laminectomy or hemilaminectomy: an alternative surgical approach to intraspinal space-occupying lesions. Technical note. J Neurosurg Spine. 2007;6(5): 485-492.

[20] Pompili A, Caroli F, Cattani F, Crecco M, Giovannetti M, Raus L, et al. Unilateral limited laminectomy as the approach of choice for the removal of thoracolumbar neurofibromas. Spine. 2004;29(15):1698-1702.

Copyright

© 2026 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

How to cite this paper

Unilateral Hemilaminectomy Lamina Resection for the Treatment of Intraspinal Masses

How to cite this paper: Xiaojun Ou, Gaoming Huang, Hua Zhou. (2026) Unilateral Hemilaminectomy Lamina Resection for the Treatment of Intraspinal Masses. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine Research10(4), 274-279.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijcemr.2026.07.004