title: Surgical experience with resection en bloc of intramedullary astrocytomas and ependymomas in the cervical and cervicothoracic region.
abstract: We performed 8 operations on 7 patients with benign intramedullary astrocytomas and ependymomas in the cervical and cervicothoracic region. All patients initially underwent gross total tumor resection en bloc. One patient with an astrocytoma showed tumor recurrence postoperatively, and underwent a second operation resulting in subtotal removal. The follow-up after the initial surgery ranged from 2.7 to 19.7 years (mean 8.5 years). Symptomatic improvement was observed in 6 patients after the initial operation. Two patients showed postoperative neurological deterioration, one with an ependymoma and the other after the second operation. No operative complications or deaths, nor postoperative respiratory dysfunction occurred. Benign intramedullary astrocytomas and ependymomas of the cervical and cervicothoracic spinal cord can be treated by radical resection en bloc with a low morbidity and recurrence, as well as acceptable outcomes. We describe here the surgical technique for en bloc tumor removal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan. kakyosh@hsp.md.shinshu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kyoshima
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akaishi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokushige
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muraoka
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oikawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Sumio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Unoki
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Naomichi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uehara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000601:surgery*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D004806:Ependymoma / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*