title: Ten years' experience in the management of spinal intramedullary tumors in a single institution.
abstract: We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of 195 patients with intramedullary tumors who underwent surgery between January 2001 and December 2010 at a single institution. The symptomatology, neurological and neuroradiological findings, operative details, perioperative and postoperative complications, histopathological data and follow-up examinations of the 137 (70.2%) males and 58 (29.7%) females were studied and analyzed. Epidermoid was the most common intramedullary tumour in children (23%), whereas in adults, ependymomas were more common (46%). Ependymomas were more amenable to resection (total excision in 57.7% and near-total excision in 39.4%) as compared to astrocytomas (total excision in 29%; near total excision in 60.5%). At the final clinical follow-up, 24 patients (16.4%) had improved in McCormick grade, 112 patients (76.7%) remained unchanged and 11 patients (7.5%) had worsened. Complete removal of the lesion is the primary goal of surgery. We conclude that the strongest predictor of functional outcome was the preoperative neurological condition, beyond the histological differentiation of the intramedullary tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosciences Center, Room No. 712, Ansari Nagar, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ailawadhi
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: Shashank Sharad
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kale
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sarat Chandra
authors.forename: Manmohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Rajender
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Bhawani S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Ashok Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mahapatra
authors.forename: Mehar C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Chitra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Pramod
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bithal
authors.forename: Hari Har
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Dash
authors.forename: Sailesh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
authors.forename: Nalin Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Mishra
mesh_terms: D019468:Disease Management; D004806:Ependymoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D004814:Epidermal Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*