How intravertebral tumors are diagnosed and treated

Intraspinal tumors are a collective term for various primary and metastatic tumors in the spinal canal, mostly originating from the cellular components of the spinal cord, end filaments, nerve roots and spinal membranes, and accounting for about 15% of central nervous system tumors. The thoracolumbar segment is the most frequent segment. Adults aged 20 to 40 years old account for most of the cases, and there are slightly more males than females. Intraspinal tumors are mostly benign, and about 3/4 of them can be cured by surgical resection. According to the relationship between tumors and horizontal parts of the spine, they are divided into: cervical segment, thoracic segment, lumbar segment and cauda equina tumors. According to the nature and histological origin of tumors, they are divided into benign and malignant tumors. The former include nerve sheath tumors, spinal meningiomas, hemangiomas, dermatomatous cysts, epidermoid cysts, lipomas and teratomas, while the latter include gliomas, invasive tumors and metastatic tumors. Tumors are classified into three categories according to their relationship with the dura mater and spinal cord: intradural tumors, extradural subdural tumors and extradural tumors. The main symptom of extramedullary tumor is neurogenic pain, which is electric burning, stabbing, cutting or pulling sensation, spreading along the distribution area of nerve roots, with band-like distribution in the trunk and linear distribution in the extremities. Any action that increases the pressure in the thoracic and abdominal cavities, such as coughing and sneezing and straining to defecate, can increase the pressure in the spinal canal and induce pain or aggravate it, in addition, it is often accompanied by numbness, weakness and difficulty in urinating and defecating. The main symptom of intramedullary tumors is pain limited to the level of the tumor, and rarely occurs as nerve root pain. About 1/3 of patients have sensory and motor deficits as the initial symptoms. The most important test is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has localization and qualitative diagnostic significance and can directly observe the morphology, location, size and relationship of the tumor to the spinal cord. Other tests such as CT, X-ray, lumbar puncture, and spinal oil iodography also have some diagnostic value. The most effective treatment is surgical resection of the tumor. Even if the tumor cannot be removed completely, partial or large resection should be performed to reduce or relieve the compression and damage of the tumor on the spinal cord. The traditional surgical approach is often the posterior median approach, which is still widely used, but the surgery is very traumatic, with extensive damage to the vertebral plate, easily destroying the stability of the spine and long recovery period.