<qa>  What is the standard procedure used to accomplish posterior decompression of the cervical spinal cord?Historically, cervical laminectomy has been proven to be effective in the treatment of symptomatic patients with cervical myelopathy. This standard procedure is employed to accomplish posterior decompression of the cervical spinal cord in patients with multi-level cervical spinal stenosis who have normal or near normal cervical spinal curvature and alignment without associated instability. Laminoplasty was developed in Japan as an alternative to the laminectomy procedure with the intent to reduce post-operative morbidity after dorsal cervical spinal cord decompression, neck pain and to maintain the relative stability of the cervical spine after multi-level decompression. 