Secondary deformities after resection of primary bone tumors of the spine in children

Abstract

Primary bone tumors and tumor-like lesions of the vertebral column are rare in children. After operative tumor resection, 25 children under the age of 17 could be reviewed in a retrospective analysis. Malignant bone tumors occurred only twice in the region of the vertebral body. No deformity was registered in 9 of 16 cases after local tumor resection with and without laminectomy on one level. In contrast, after resection of one or both facets in combination with laminectomy cranial to L4 or thoracal, progressive kyphosis was found within 6-22 months postoperatively in four cases. This required a secondary fusion. After primary fusion and instrumentation, no deformity was registered. In nine cases with a location of the tumor in the vertebral body, only two patients developed a secondary instability of the spine. Both cases had no primary fusion. The other seven patients with initial fusion and instrumentation showed no deformity within 24 up to 127 months postoperatively. These results are compared with data from the current literature.