Use of Saito technique to resect an anterior lumbar spine meningioma: Technical note

BACKGROUND: Complete (Simpson Grade I: total removal) resections for anterior spinal meningiomas are especially challenging. This is largely attributed to difficulty obtaining a water-tight dural repair where the tumor has infiltrated the dura requiring duroplasty, thus often resulting in just a Simpson Grade II resection (i.e. coagulation of the dural implantation site). Here, we present a 56-year-old female who underwent resection of a ventral lumbar meningioma utilizing the Saito technique, that effectively separated the dura into two layers, removing just the inner layer but leaving the outer layer intact for direct dural repair. METHODS: A 56-year-old female underwent a L1–L2 laminectomy. The anterior intradural resection of tumor was achieved with the Saito technique; this required cutting circumferentially around the tumor insertion site, and removing only the inner layer. RESULTS: Postoperatively, the patient did well without tumor recurrence over 8 years. The postoperative biopsy confirmed a World Health Organization Grade I meningothelial meningioma. CONCLUSION: Saito’s technique proved to be a safe and effective method for achieving gross total resection of an anterior lumbar meningioma.