The therapy of thoracic vertebra tumor by radical resection of whole vertebrae through posterior approach

Objective To investigate the feasibility and effect of radical resection of the upper thoracic vertebra tumor through posterior approach.Methods Through posterior middle approach,the upper thoracic vertebra tumors were resected,decompression was done around the spinal cord,and bone graft and internal fixation were employed to reconstruct spine stability.Results No patients died during operation and none had iatrogenic spinal cord injury or other complications.Follow-up lasted for 8 to 18 months,and the results showed that 1 patient with metastatic tumor had intracranial metastasis in 6 months after operation and died in 10 months later.No metastasis occurred in the remaining patients.In 6 months after operation,of the 5 patients admitted,1 had spinal cord functional recovery from grade A to grade E,1 had spinal cord functional recovery from grade A to grade D,1 had spinal cord functional recovery from grade B to grade D,2 had spinal cord functional recovery from grade C to grade E.All local pain was relieved.X-ray film showed no sign of spinal destabilization and breakage of internal fixation.Conclusions Resection of upper thoracic vertebra tumor through posterior middle approach is an ideal method with advantages of relative minimal injury,clear operation field,manipulating internal fixation easily,resecting tumor completely and having few complications.