The outcome of spine metastatic after surgery: a case series

Abstract

Introduction: Spine metastases occur because of the spread of the primary tumour that causes back pain and neurological deficits in the sufferer and has a high risk for surgery. Case presentation: In this case series, all three patients had the same initial symptoms; back pain and lower limb weakness and had a history of previous primary tumours that metastasized to the spine. The MRI showed a tumour mass on T11 accompanied by a burst fracture in the first patient, L4 in the second patient, and T3 in the third case accompanied by a dislocated fracture. The three reported patients underwent a posterior decompression procedure, and a histopathological examination showed a metastatic adenocarcinoma. Outcomes: Postoperatively the patient underwent physiotherapy and showed a change in the Frankel grade condition. However, in the second case, the patient had complications such as a pathological fracture that made the patient undergo further surgery for this. Still, after the operation, the patient died due to hemodynamic instability due to heavy blood loss. In this report, the indication for surgery is because the three patients complained of pain and neurological deficits resulting in the patient having limited motor movement in the lower limbs. Conclusion: Surgery is one of the things that can improve spine metastatic patients’ activities of daily living and quality of life even though it is a high-risk procedure; The surgeon must carefully assess the patient’s condition in determining the classification, evaluation, and scoring system to provide the necessary therapy.