Spinal instability due to malignant disease. Treatment by segmental spinal stabilization

Seven patients with a malignant tumor were treated for spinal instability with Luque-rod fixation either with or without bone-grafting. The stabilization was successful in all patients, including five who died as a result of the tumor between six and eighteen months postoperatively. Two patients were still alive at an average of twenty-two months after operation. The only complication that was directly related to the procedure was cutting through the lamina of a fixation wire.