Palliative occipito-cervical stabilization in patients with malignant tumors of the occipito-cervical junction and the upper cervical spine.
BACKGROUND
Occipital-cervical stability may be impaired in patients with primary malignant or metastatic tumors of the cranio-cervical junction and the upper cervical spine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate occipital-cervical fixation with pre-bent titanium-loops and sublaminar wiring in order to achieve a rigid and safe stabilisation of the occipito-cervical region in this group of patients.


METHODS
20 patients with severe impairment of occipito-cervical stability due to primary malignant or metastatic cervical bone involvement were included in this study. For palliation of symptoms, resulting from destructive instability, a stabilization procedure using Ransford Loops with sublaminar cable fixation was used in these patients as a palliative therapeutic concept.


RESULTS
Pain which was the major symptom in all patients treated, showed good and immediate response to the stabilization procedures. All 20 patients were either pain free or had good improvement with less intake of analgesic drugs. Signs of spinal cord compression like spasticity and quadraparesis were less likely to improve after surgery. However in 3 of 5 patients neurological function improved after surgery whereas in 2 patients no improvement was achieved.


CONCLUSIONS
In all patients with impaired occipito-cervical stability due to primary malignant or metastatic tumors of the occipito-cervical junction and the upper cervical spine, immediate stabilization resulting in an improvement of pain was achieved. Occipito-cervical stabilization using contoured Ransford loops is a promising palliative therapeutic concept in this group of patients.
Department of Neurosurgery, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
M
M
Zimmermann
R
R
Wolff
A
A
Raabe
D
D
Stolke
V
V
Seifert
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001858:Bone Nails; D001860:Bone Plates; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009777:Occipital Bone / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D010166:Palliative Care; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary; D016896:Treatment Outcome