Spine Oncology

Spine oncology involves tumors growing in the spine area. The surgeons focus on detecting and treating these abnormal growths. Some tumors start in the spine itself, while others come from different parts of the body and then spread to the spine. Doctors who perform spine cancer surgery work with experts from different fields and take full care of people with tumors in the spine.

Significance of Spine Oncology

Spine tumors can seriously harm a person's ability to live a healthy life. They bring suffering, nerve issues, spine problems, and more troubles. Dealing with spine tumors through surgery is important for:

• Managing Tumors: Removing spine tumors with surgery seeks to stop their growth locally. It aims to ease symptoms, improve spine stability, and decompresses the cord/nerves leading to improved functioning.
• Reducing Pain: Spine operations may decrease tumor-caused pain. This improves mobility and overall quality of living for patients.
• Avoiding Nerve Complications: Early treatment of spinal tumors could stop or lessen nerve deficits, such as weakness, sensory changes, and bowel/bladder dysfunction.

Types of Spine Tumors and Surgical Procedures

Primary Spine Tumors:

• Benign Tumors: Osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma, and hemangioma can be removed by curettage, and en bloc resection.
• Malignant Tumors: Primary malignant like chordoma, chondrosarcoma, and osteosarcoma need aggressive surgical resection. Often, radiation therapy and chemotherapy follows. 

Metastatic Spine Tumors:

• Surgical Decompression: For spinal cord compression from metastatic tumors, procedures like laminectomy and corpectomy relieve pressure on cord/nerves
• Spinal Fusion: Stabilization by fusion techniques (instrumented fusion, vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty) addresses the post-tumor removal/decompression instability.
• Intradural Spinal Tumors: These tumours are inside the spinal canal (meningiomas, ependymomas, schwannomas) and require microsurgery for precise resection and to preserve neural structures.

Benefits

Surgery benefits include:

• Tumor Control and Symptom Relief: Resection results in local control, alleviates pain, reduces neurological deficits, and improves stability.
• Neurological Improvement: Lessening pressure on the spinal cord and nerves can enhance nerve function. This benefit is most likely seen while treating compressed areas caused by spreading cancerous growths.
• Preservation of Function: Operations aim to retain proper spine positioning, steadiness, and working order. Surgical rebuilding methods help accomplish this vital goal.