Spinal Tumour en Bloc Surgery: A Series of Abandoned Surgical Cases

Select spinal tumors can be treated with en bloc spondylectomy (EBS) but the surgical complexity and relatively low frequency of eligible tumors render EBS an uncommon procedure. The expanded surgical access encompasses acceptance of relatively high morbidity as a trade-off against improved oncological results and survival. EBS durations can be long with dynamic changes affecting the risk-benefit ratio as the surgery proceeds. We present a series of cases where we have elected to “abandon” EBS due to adverse findings or rising intraoperative risk along with our lessons learned. A search of our surgical database for all “en bloc” spinal tumor procedures over a three-year period was performed and 27 operations were identified. Of these, four were abandoned. Two of the four surgeries were halted owing to adverse anatomical findings. One involved significant tumor growth from the interval imaging bringing into question disease control and the other displayed tumor adherence to the lung requiring significant dissection. The further two cases incurred significant blood loss and associated physiological complications of end-organ dysfunction. Pre-operative embolization (POE), anesthetic monitoring, controlled hypotension, volume replacement, and transfusion optimize our chance of achieving the surgical plan. However, cardiovascular instability must be managed promptly and early warning signs of end-organ injury (lactate, renal output) should not be overlooked. In some situations abandoning the procedure may be in the best interests of the patient.