Short-term outcomes of posterior surgery for thoracolumbar spinal metastasis

Purpose
The purpose of the work is to evaluate the postoperative quality of life, neurological condition, and ambulatory status of patients with spinal metastases treated surgically during the first year after surgery in countries with limited resources.


Methods
This was a prospective case series study. All patients with spinal metastasis and indicated for surgery, presented to our facility from 2020 to 2021 were included in the study. Clinical evaluation includes visual analog score (VAS) for back pain, the Frankel grading system for neurological assessment, the Tokuhashi severity and survival score for predicting the expected patient survival period, and the 5Q-ED score for assessment of quality of life.


Results
This study included 30 patients with thoracolumbar spine metastasis who underwent surgery, 21 males and 9 females in the age range of between 18 and 72 years with a median value of 49.17 ± 13.272 years. Five patients died within 6 months postoperatively due to advanced malignancy, while the remaining 25 patients were followed-up for at least 1 year.


Conclusion
Surgical treatment for metastatic spinal tumor can improve quality of life in a substantially high percentage of patients with acceptable complication rates in a limited resource setting. Spinal surgery for metastatic cancer significantly reduces pain and is effective in preserving neurological function over short-term follow-up with acceptably low morbidity. The Tokuhashi score (especially primary site of malignancy) had a significant effect on overall survival.