title: Is it necessary to embolise all spinal metastases from primary renal tumours?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spinal metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma are associated with significant intra-operative blood loss. Our aim was to assess if embolisation reduced the intra-operative blood loss and transfusion requirement.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective cohort study of 25 patients undergoing surgery between 2003 and 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  14 underwent pre-operative embolisation; 11 did not. There was no significant difference in intra-operative blood loss, 1336 ml vs 1492 ml in the non-embolised (pvalue = 0.116). 43% of embolised patients required an intra operative blood transfusion vs 27% in the non-embolised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that not all patients with spinal metastatic renal carcinoma require pre-operative embolisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lynn Esther
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Niall
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eames
keywords: Pre-operative embolisation; Renal carcinoma; Spinal metastases