[Predictive factors of spinal deformity following surgery for intramedullary tumors]

Spinal deformity following surgery for intramedullary tumors is a serious potential complication. The aim of the study was to identify potential predictive risk factors of spinal deformity after intramedullary tumor surgery.

Retrospective study including patients harboring intramedullary tumors who underwent surgery in a single center (Hôpital Bicêtre, AP-HP, Paris) between 1985 and 2011. The main outcome was the difference at last follow-up between post- and preoperative measure of Cobb angles formed by the superior and inferior limits of the laminectomy (Δ_Cobb).

Sixty-three patients included. Mean sagittal deformity was 15.9° (0°-77°) for a mean follow-up of 85 months (4-240). Univariate analysis of potential predictive factors showed an increased deformity for patients undergoing a 4-or-more levels laminectomy, (19.3° versus 12.1°; P=0.04), for patients aged less or equal to 30 years of age and when it included a junction (20.8° versus 12.4°; P=0.02). A neurological deficit, either pre- or postoperatively, was not associated with a greater deformity. Multivariate analysis showed that only age (P=0.01) and the number of spinal levels involved (P=0.014) were significant and independent predictors of postoperative deformity.

This study indicates predictive factors of spinal deformity in any patient undergoing surgery for intramedullary tumors, allowing improvement in the planning of surgery and patients' follow-up.