Critical surgical techniques for giant cell tumor of sacrum / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To discuss the relations between optimal surgical margin and local recurrence and the impact of preserving segment of sacral nerve root on neural functions based on the clinical and pathological features of giant cell tumor(GCT).Methods From August 1996 to August 2008,48 patients with sacral GCT undergoing tumor resection were respectively analyzed,including 20 males and 28 females with an average of 34.7 years(range,19-74).The tumors were located in S1-S5 in 4 patients,S1-S4 in 7,S1-S3 in 15,S1,2 in 12,S2-S5 in 8,and S3-S5 in 2.Surgical methods included single posterior approach in 29 cases,combined anterior-posterior approach in 19.The surgical margins adopted were en-bloc in 2 patients,marginal in 15,marginal and curettage in 25,and curettage in 9.Results Forty-one of 48 cases were successfully followed up,the average time was 43.5 months(range,18-115).The average blood loss during surgery was 3560 ml(range,550-12 000).Benign lung metastasis occurred in one case 6 years after operation,2 patients died of malignant transformation.Local recurrence occurred in 15 cases.The recurrence rates in patients with en-bloc resection,marginal resection,marginal resection combined with curettage,and curettage were 0,18.2%,40.9%,66.7%,respectively.The recurrence rate of marginal group was significantly lower than that of the curettage group.Of 27 cases with bilateral S3 nerve root preservation,2 sufiered from urine or fetal dysfunction.with an incidence rate of 7.4%.While 4 of 12 patients with unilateral S3 nerve root preservation suffered from sphincter disturbance,with an incidence rate of 33.3%.The significant difference between groups in nerve root preservation was confirmed.Conclusion Optimal surgical margin for sacral GCT is of great importance to local control of tumor recurrence,the surgical procedure of sacral GCT should aim at the marginal resection on the basis of rational sacral nerve roots preservation;preservation of bilateral S3 nerve roots contributes to the recovery of sphincteral function in most patients.