Spinal Tumors
What Are Spinal Tumors?
A spinal tumor is an abnormal mass of tissue surrounding the spinal cord. The cells within grow and multiply at a rapid rate uncontrollably.
Tumors of the spine can be benign, malignant, or metastatic. They may be asymptomatic, or cause pressure on nerves or blood vessels by their expansion. They may erode bone and result in collapse or instability.
What Causes Spinal Tumors?
The cause of spinal tumors ranges. Some spinal tumors can be linked to cancer-causing reasons or are inherited gene mutations. Jenkins NeuroSpine has extensive knowledge in the management of all kinds of tumors of the spine and spinal axis. We employ a collaborative approach to the various types of tumors, as each tumor and each patient requires different treatments.
What Are Symptoms of Spinal Tumors?
What Are Symptoms of Spinal Tumors?
- Back pain that travels to other parts of the body
- Lack of sensitivity to pain, heat, and cold
- Pain where the tumor has growth
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Trouble walking
- Muscle weakness or lack of sensation in arms or legs
How Are Spinal Tumors Treated?
The treatment of each tumor depends on its pathology, as well as what symptoms it is causing. Understanding all the treatment options available is critical to being able to offer a flexible and optimized treatment strategy to each patient.
Treatment, when appropriate, ranges from least invasive to most invasive depending on many different factors. These may range from:
- Observation (wait and see)
- Minimally invasive non-surgical treatments such as vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty
- Radiation treatments such as radiosurgery
- Minimally invasive surgical treatments for resection, decompression, and even instrumentation
- More extensive operations (such as for unstable spines, complete “oncologic” resections including extensive resection where a true cure is possible).