title: Primary spinal tumors in children.
abstract: Nine patients, 16 years of age or younger with primary spinal cord tumors, diagnosed between 1991 and 2003 at The Kaohsiung University Hospital, were reviewed retrospectively. There were 2 female and 7 male patients. Two tumors were located primarily in the cervical cord (1 meningioma, 1 neurofibroma), five were predominantly thoracic (1 lymphoma, 1 meningioma, 1 astrocytoma, 1 fibrosarcoma and 1 osteoblastoma), one lumbar (ependymoma), and one sacral (Ewing's sarcoma). The most common clinical presentation was limb weakness (100%) followed by back pain (44.4%). All the patients underwent laminectomy for removal of their tumors. Five children with benign tumors improved postoperatively. At discharge, these 5 children could walk without assistance and have remained stable with long-term of follow-up. Radical surgery should be considered in benign primary spinal cord tumors. As would be expected, patients diagnosed and treated early and in whom a total resection was achieved had a better prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiaokang Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Joon-Khim
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: Ching-Kuo
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yan-Fen
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Shiuh-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Aij-Lie
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kwan
authors.forename: Shen-Long
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Howng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000209:etiology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome