Tumors of the spine can be very problematic. If they are cancerous, they could spread to other parts of the body, and if they grow to large, they could compromise the integrity of the spine. Because of this, spinal tumors are often treated with a surgical procedure, but there are a number of different ways surgeons can perform the operation. Today, we take a closer look at some of the types of surgical operations for spinal tumor removal.
Surgical Options For Spine Tumors
Surgery for spinal tumors often has four main goals:
- Remove all or as much of the tumor as possible
- Strengthen and stabilize the integrity of the spine
- Reduce pain
- Improve quality of life and spinal function
Here’s a look at a couple of procedures that help to achieve these goals:
Decompression – A decompression operation involves removing the tumor to free nearby areas it may be compressing. A decompression procedure can be broken down into three sub-categories: Debulk Decompression (Make the tumor smaller) Excise Decompression (Full removal) or Resection Decompression (Partial removal). These procedures can often be done using minimally invasive techniques to reduce the surgical toll on the patient and increase recovery times.
Embolization – An embolization procedure involves reducing or cutting off the blood supply to the tumor, which can cause it to shrink and in some cases become asymptomatic.
Kyphoplasty/Vertebroplasty – When a tumor leads to a spinal fracture, one of these procedures can be performed. This involves removing the tumor and injecting bone cement into the area to fill the cracks in the bone caused by the tumor. This helps to re-stabilize the integrity of the spine. A kyphoplasty involves inserting small balloons into the fracture site to help create a hole for the bone cement to be injected into so it fills the crack, while a vertebroplasty uses radiofrequency ablation to remove the tumor tissue and create the cavity for the bone cement. Both operations result in immediate fracture stabilization.
Radiosurgery – Despite the name, this is actually a non-surgical procedure that delivers targeted radiation to the spinal tumor to shrink and kill the tumor over time.
Spine Stabilization – Spine stabilization is a procedure that may be performed in conjunction with one of the above operations in order to restrengthen the spine. This may involve the insertion of certain instruments like plates, screws or other hardware, or different options like an autograft or fusion may be pursued.
If you’ve been told that your have a spinal growth that needs to be removed, get in contact with our office today. We’ll walk you through all your options and be with you every step of the way during your recovery and rehab.