[Ventral Stabilization of Primary Tumors and Metastases of the Spine with Vertebral Body Implant and Palacos]

The authors report on the clinical course of 31 patients with primary tumors or metastases of the spine which were treated with the vertebral body implant and Palacos, i.e., composite osteosynthesis. The goal of therapy is to relieve the spinal cord and the nerve roots and to restore the supporting function of the spine. Subjective and objective improvement was found in 64% of the patients; the result was unchanged in 23%, and further symptoms developed in 13%. The tumor-specific breakdown revealed that overall survival was somewhat more than two years in plasmocytoma cases and ten months in metastasis cases. In almost all cases in which an improvement in initial symptoms was achieved postoperatively, this improvement was permanent. With the surgical technique applied here spinal stability can be restored and the patients can also be mobilized quickly.