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Laminectomy — NCLEX Cheat Sheet

Log roll · location drives everything
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👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team 🕐 Updated 2026-08-31 🏷️ Physiological Adaptation 🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Laminectomy on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!

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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet

🧪 By Level

  • Cervical — airway and arms; risk of pneumonia
  • Thoracic — cough and bowels; pneumonia, paralytic ileus
  • Lumbar — bladder and legs; urinary retention

📌 Post-Op

  • LOG ROLL — the #1 answer
  • Do not dangle the legs
  • Do not sit longer than 30 minutes
  • Walking, standing and lying flat are all allowed

📌 Nerve Root — The 3 P’S

  • Pain · Paraesthesia · Paresis
  • New weakness or retention → report now

🎓 Permanent Teaching

  • Never lift by bending at the waist
  • After a cervical lam, nothing lifted overhead

Quick Tip

Focus on the highlighted numbers and the red-flag items — those are what the NCLEX tests most on laminectomy.

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