Objective:

To investigate the effectiveness of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation combined expandable tubular retractor in the treatment of patients with spinal metastases.

Methods:

In the study, 12 patients of spinal metastases treated with percutaneous pedicle screw fixation combined expandable tubular retractor in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed between June 2017 and October 2019. Among the 12 patients, 9 were males and 3 were females; the median age was 62.5 years [(65.1±2.9) years]. The decompression segment of 7 patients was located at the lower thoracic spine (including 1 patient with incomplete paraplegia) and the decompression segment of 5 patients was located at the lumbar spine; Tomita score was 6.0±0.6. Perioperative data of the patients were reviewed. Visual analog scale (VAS score), Karnofsky score, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score were compared before and after surgery. The patient’s survival, adjuvant treatment, and internal fixation failure were observed in the follow-up period.

Results:

All the 12 patients had a successful operation with percuta-neous pedicle screw fixation combined expandable tubular retractor. The average operative time, blood loss, and blood transfused of the patients were (247.0±14.6) min, (804.2±222.3) mL and (500.0±100.0) mL, respectively. The average amount of drainage was (240.8±79.3) mL. Drainage tubes were pulled out early postoperative [(3.2±0.3) d], allowing early mobilization. The patients discharged (7.8±0.8) d postoperative. All the patients were followed up for 6-30 months, and the average overall survival time was (13.6±2.4) months. During the follow-up period, 2 patients experienced screw displacement, the internal fixation was stable after conservative treatment and no revision surgery was performed. The VAS of the patients was 7.1±0.2 before surgery, which decreased to 2.3±0.1 and 2.8±0.4 at 3 and 6 months after surgery (P < 0.05). The Karnofsky score of the patients was 59.2±1.9 before surgery, which increased to 75.0±1.9 and 74.2±3.1 at 3 and 6 months after surgery (P < 0.05). The ECOG of the patients was 2.3±0.2 before surgery, which decreased to 1.7±0.1 and 1.7±0.2 at 3 and 6 months after surgery (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:

For selected patients with spinal metastases, minimally invasive surgical treatment of spinal metastases (percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation combined with expandable tubular retractor) can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms and improve the quality of life, with satisfactory clinical outcome.