ANTERIOR FIBULAR STRUT GRAFT IN NEOPLASTIC DISEASE OF THE CERVICAL-SPINE

An anterior operative procedure using a strut of fibular graft material was performed either alone or in combination with a posterior stabilization in five patients with cervical spine instability secondary to neoplastic disease. Osseous tumor was present in four of the five patients (osteoblastoma, metastatic adrenal carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, multiple myeloma) and the fifth had spine instability as a result of a posterior decompression for cervical spinal cord glioma. The anterior approach using fibula to replace diseased vertebrae and provide axial support for the neck was a valuable therapeutic modality in this group of patients, all of whom had a limited life expectancy. Cervical spine stability obtained by operative intervention led to a reduction of neck pain and maintenance of ambulation until the neoplastic condition became terminal.