MATERIAL and METHODS: This study included 28 patients with IDEM tumors who underwent unilateral hemilaminectomies during the period 2011?2016. The preoperative clinicoradiological data, intraoperative findings, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed using a Microsoft Excel database.

RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 49.14 ± 12.23 years, and the average duration of symptoms was 11.82 weeks. The tumor distribution in the spine was as follows: cervical spine (14.2%), cervicodorsal spine (3.6%), dorsal spine (39.3%), dorsolumbar spine (10.7%), and lumbar spine (32.1%). Twenty patients (71%) underwent two-level laminectomies, and three-level laminectomies were performed on eight patients (29%). The mean operative time was 4 hours and 40 minutes.

CONCLUSION: Unilateral hemilaminectomy is a safe, minimally invasive procedure for the excision of IDEM tumors. Beginners may face difficulties with this procedure and should ideally take more time than with a conventional total laminectomy because of the narrow operating corridor. As more experience is gained, this procedure will become easier in selected cases. Keywords : Unilateral, Hemilaminectomy, Spinal cord, Tumors