Unilateral Hemilaminectomy as Primary Treatment for Spinal Cord Tumors: Retrospective Cohort of 38 Cases with a Minimum Follow-Up of 24 Months.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of hemilaminectomy as an approach to intradural tumors and to assess the risk of postoperative spinal instability.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 38 patients who underwent surgical resection of intradural tumors between November 2014 and March 2019. Clinical and radiologic data were documented in medical records, from which we obtained clinical data including age, gender, tumor etiology, lesion level, type of resection, and postoperative instability during follow-up.

Results: Schwannomas and meningiomas were the most commonly treated tumors. The lesion locations were as follows: 8 cervical (21%), 19 thoracic (50%), 10 lumbar (26%), and 1 sacral (3%). The mean follow-up time was 28 months. In all cases, hemilaminectomy allowed for the removal of the tumors without clinical or radiologic evidence of postoperative mechanical instability. Hemilaminectomy was primarily performed on 2 segments but was extended to up to 6 levels in some cases.

Conclusions: Unilateral hemilaminectomy is an effective technique that facilitates complete tumor removal with a low rate of postoperative instability in the operated segments.