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Spinal Meningiomas: Review of 174 Operated Cases
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1989
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Neuro-oncologySpinal Cord InjuryMicrosurgical TechniqueSpinal OncologySpinal TumorSurgeryNeurologySpine SurgeryNeuropathologyMedicineComplete Tumor RemovalMeningiomaNeurological SurgerySpinal Meningiomas
The cohort mirrored prior studies in age, sex, tumor location, and clinical presentation. The study critically analyzed long‑term outcomes of 174 spinal meningioma surgeries, noting that 70 % had mild neurological impairment pre‑op and 30 % had moderate to severe impairment, with an average 15‑year follow‑up for 156 patients. Complete tumor resection was achieved in 96.5 % of cases with a 1 % mortality rate, microsurgical technique reduced spinal cord injury, and long‑term follow‑up showed a 6 % recurrence rate, 17 % regrowth after subtotal removal, and that early diagnosis and microsurgery were key to improved outcomes.
Abstract The long-term results obtained in a series of 174 patients operated on for spinal meningiomas are critically analyzed. This series was similar to those of other authors with regard to age, sex, location of the tumors, and clinical presentation. Before surgery, about 70% of the patients were included in Groups I and II (mild neurological impairment), and about 30% of the patients were classified in Groups III and IV (significant to severe neurological impairment, up to paraplegia). Complete tumor removal was achieved in 96.5% of the patients, and surgical mortality was about 1%. Microsurgical technique, which was adopted in the last 29 cases, proved to be very effective in reducing undue damage to the spinal cord and in minimizing the postoperative neurological deficits. Of the 174 patients who underwent surgery, 156 underwent late follow-up study for an average of 15 years (2 patients died in the immediate postoperative period, and 16 patients were lost to follow-up). Twenty-nine patients died of causes unrelated to the spinal meningioma; of the remaining 126 patients, 92% were categorized in Groups I and II, and only 8% in Groups III and IV. The rate of recurrence was 6% (9 patients) among the 150 patients who had complete tumor removal, and the rate of regrowth was 17% (1 patient with anaplastic meningioma) among the 6 patients treated by subtotal removal. The early diagnosis of the disease and the use of microsurgical technique appeared as the most relevant factors for further improvement of the surgical results.