This blog will address a question submitted by an Indana Spine Group blog reader.

Question:  Is it normal to have fluid collection in the soft tissues following a microdiscectomy? Also can you explain what a laminectomy defect is?

Answer:  On occassion patients can have post-op fluid/blood that hasn't been absorbed by the body.  The only time it is a problem is when it is fluid coming from the spinal cord. 

Also a laminectomy defect could be a couple of things; it could be instability caused by the spine surgery itself (called post laminectomy syndrome) or recurrence of spinal stenosis.