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Information on Spinal Cord Tumor Surgery

Spinal cord tumor surgery is performed as a last resort if other treatment methods fail to shrink a tumor. Surgery is used to prevent further neurological damage, reduce pain and stabilize the spine. Because permanent nerve damage is a potential complication of this type of surgery, it may not be possible to completely remove a tumor. Two types of surgery are used to remove tumors and restore function.

  1. Tumor Types

    • Spinal cord tumors can be cancerous or non-cancerous. Primary tumors grow in the nerves, soft tissues or bones around the spine or spinal cord. These types of tumors are much less common than metastatic, or secondary, tumors. Secondary tumors (usually cancerous) are those that develop after a primary tumor develops in another area of the body, such as the lung, prostate, kidney, breast or thyroid. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, approximately 70 percent of spinal tumors are secondary tumors.

    Why Surgery Is Necessary

    • If radiation or chemotherapy treatments fail to shrink a spinal cord tumor, surgery may be needed. Surgery is generally performed if pain is severe, or if the tumor is damaging bone or is causing a curvature of the spine. Loss of bladder or bowel control due to the tumor pressing on the nerves that control these functions may also signal the need for surgery. Motor functions may also be impacted by a growing tumor and surgery may be needed to address weakness in the small and large muscles. In some cases, the tumor may cause paralysis.

    Percutaneous Surgery

    • Percutaneous spinal tumor surgery is a minimally-invasive procedure that involves inserting surgical instruments and a tiny camera through small incisions in the skin. This type of surgery is generally used if the patient is not experiencing neurological, or nerve-related, problems. During percutaneous surgery, all or part of the tumor is scraped away and removed and cement is injected into any vertebrae that may have fractured from the weight of the tumor.

    Open Surgery

    • An open procedure, requiring a large incision, is necessary if there are neurological symptoms or if the tumor is very large. During this type of surgery, the tumor is carefully separated from the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels. A pre-operative embolization may be used to reduce bleeding during surgery; a catheter is threaded into the groin and temporarily prevents blood from reaching the spinal tumor. Depending on the extent of damage to the spine, cement, rods or screws may be needed to stabilize the spine.

    Recovery

    • According to the North American Spine Society, spinal tumor surgery patients usually remain in the hospital for 5 to 10 days after surgery. Physical rehabilitation is needed to regain mobility and it may be necessary to stay in a physical rehabilitation hospital for a period of time. Total recovery time can take a few months or as much as a year, depending on the complexity of the surgery. After surgery, your surgeon may recommend that you receive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans occasionally to detect any tumor regrowth or new tumors.

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