The average success rate from a study of 170 patients with follow up from 1 to 11 years (average 5.1 years) showed the success rate of decompressive laminectomy to be 70.8% for lumbar stenosis, 66.6% for lumbar stenosis and herniated lumbar disc, and 63.6% for lateral recess stenosis. Success rates vary significantly by surgeon, level and patient selection however.