Utility of the Lateral Base Dural Tacking Method in Cord Tumor Surgery Performed Using Unilateral Hemilaminectomy: A Comparison of Dural Window Widths

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Unilateral hemilaminectomy, which is used to remove spinal cord tumors, is simpler than laminoplastic laminotomy and affords certain biomechanical advantages. However, both incomplete tumor removal and inadvertent infliction of spinal cord damage attributable to the narrow surgical corridor remain of concern. When a spinal cord tumor is to be removed, it is important to ensure that the dural window along the surgical corridor is of adequate width. This study aimed to determine that the utility of lateral base dural tacking (LBT) method when cord tumor surgery is performed using a unilateral hemilaminectomy-a comparison of dural window widths with a traditional dural tack-up and a suspending-out (DSO) method with the aid of digital image-analysis software. METHODS: Twenty-one consecutive patients who had intradural-extramedullary spinal cord tumors removed using a unilateral hemilaminectomy were included in the study and analyzed retrospectively. We acquired DSO and LBT dural window images using surgical microscopes under identical conditions in consecutive order and then removed the tumors using the LBT method. We used digital image-analysis software to analyze the images quantitatively. The pixel numbers of LBT and DSO window were compared using a paired t test. RESULTS: Twenty-one tumorous lesions were successfully removed without any major problems using a unilateral hemilaminectomy through LBT windows. The mean pixel numbers of the LBT and DSO windows were 126,787 +/- 41,938 and 85,940 +/- 21,638. The LBT windows were 46% larger than the DSO windows (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We objectively proved that the utility of the LBT method for widening the surgical corridor created during hemilaminectomy.