[Surgical treatment of tumor-induced destruction of the spine]

Surgery for treatment of destructions of the spine varies depending on localization and tumour status. If the body of the vertebra is affected, the ventral approach allows radical tumour resection as far as possible. The following stabilization is effected by filling the defect and carrying out osteosynthetical fusion. Of 38 patients, three had benign tumours, whereas ten patients had primary malignant and 25 had metastatic tumours. The results show that surgical treatment is justified also in palliative indications; although survival time is not prolonged, the quality of life can be improved.