Table 3.
Surgical procedures performed on 87 patients with breast cancer spinal metastasis (n = 125)
| Surgical approach for all procedures | n | (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Anterior only | 47 | (38) |
| Posterior only | 44 | (35) |
| Combined anterior-posterior simultaneous | 8 | (6) |
| Anterior or posterior portion of staged procedure | 26 | (21) |
| Instrumentation of all procedures | ||
| Incidence of any instrumentation | 115 | (92) |
| Incidence of PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) usage | 75 | (60) |
| Blood loss for all procedures | ||
| Median estimated blood loss (ml), (range) | 700 | (50–6,000) |
| Median number of blood transfusions, (range) | 1 | (0–16) |
| Number of vertebral bodies removed per patient | ||
| 0 | 19 | (22) |
| 1 | 43 | (49) |
| 2 or more | 25 | (29) |
| Number of levels instrumented per patient | ||
| 0 | 4 | (5) |
| 3–5 | 53 | (61) |
| 6–10 | 23 | (26) |
| 11–15 | 7 | (8) |
| Indications for subsequent surgery by patient | ||
| Second part of staged surgery | 13 | (15) |
| Tumor recurrence (local or distant) | 20 | (23) |
| Surgical revision of instrumentation | 12 | (14) |