Total en bloc spondylectomy for primary tumors of the lumbar spine

This was a retrospective clinical study. This study aimed to evaluate our institution's experience with total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) in patients treated for primary lumbar spine tumors and investigate postoperative clinical outcomes. TES is a widely accepted by spinal and musculoskeletal surgical oncologists and results in favorable health-related quality of life outcomes. However, this procedure still imposes major risks and complications. The cases of TES performed for primary lumbar spine tumors between 1993 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Primary outcome measures were the rates of perioperative complications and reoperation for instrumentation failure. We enrolled 30 patients (13 men and 17 women; median age and follow-up, 38 years and 87 months, respectively). Three, 7, and 5 cases involved previous radiotherapy, intralesional resection, and chemotherapy, respectively. The most common tumor was giant cell tumor (14 cases) followed by osteosarcoma (4 cases) and plasmacytoma (3 cases). The median estimated blood loss was 1450 mL, and the median operative time was 11 hours. At least 1 perioperative complication occurred in 26 patients (86.7%), with the most common being postoperative muscle weakness (24 patients, 80.0%) followed by surgical site infection and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage (7 patients, respectively; 23.3% each). Revision surgery for instrumentation failure was required in 6 patients (20.0%) at a median of 33 months after the index TES. Four patients experienced local tumor recurrence (13.3%), and their 10-year disease-free rate was 75.0%. TES is a feasible and effective procedure for primary lumbar spine tumors, but the risks of perioperative complications and late instrumentation failure should be acknowledged. Surgical oncologic outcomes were good, especially in patients who underwent TES as their first surgical treatment. Therefore, being familiar with the indications for TES and the surgical technique is important.