Laminectomy and diseectomy are common procedures in the management of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation. Complications of such surgery include recurrent/residual disc herniation, epidural sear formation, discitis, arachnoiditis and pseudo-meningocele. Gadolinium-enhanced MRI is the technique of choice for investigating recurrent symptoms following diseectomy. This article reviews the normal early and late post-laminectomy MR appearances, as well as the pathological findings associated with the above-mentioned complications. (C) 2002 The Royal College of Radiologists Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.