Anterior decompression and stabilisation of metastatic spinal fractures

Seventeen patients with pathological fractures of the thoracolumbar spine which had not responded to conservative treatment are reported. All had compression of the spinal cord and/or severe pain. All (except one treated by lateral rhachotomy) were treated by anterior decompression followed by stabilisation; when the lesion was below T2 the spine was stabilised anteriorly, and when it was higher posterior instrumentation was used. Sixteen of the 17 patients benefited from the procedure.