Surgical management of aggressive hemangiomas of the spine

Abstract

Our objective is to describe the surgical management and outcomes following surgical intervention for aggressive spine hemangiomas. Patients from 2005 to 2018 with an aggressive hemangioma of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine and sacrum treated surgically at a tertiary referral academic medical center were included in this study. The hospital pathology department database was used to identify patients with a diagnosis of aggressive hemangioma. Patient demographics, medical history, operative procedure, adjunct treatment, early and late complications, and recurrence were analyzed using the Fischer exact test with significance set at p < 0.05 Ten patients met inclusion criteria for the study. The average follow up was 11 months. Eight out of ten patients had aggressive hemangioma of the thoracic spine. Seven of the ten patients presented with back or leg pain. The most common surgery was laminectomy at the site of the lesion (70%). 40% of patients underwent a spinal fusion, with two of these patients receiving concurrent intra-operative vertebroplasty. Three patients underwent post-operative radiation therapy. Five complications were noted among three individuals. There were three perioperative complications, deep venous thrombosis, renal insufficiency, one surgical site infection, and two postoperative complications, both revisions. There were no recurrences. Surgical intervention for aggressive spine hemangiomas is an effective treatment with relatively low complication and recurrence rates.