Abstract
We studied 12 patients (four men and eight women) with spinal cord tumor at the upper cervical spine. Eleven schwannomas and one meningioma were included. They were observed for nine months to 20 years (average 9.1 years) after surgery. Posterior approach was performed on all patients. In eight patients, tumor was resected totally, and in four patient partially. There was no recurrence in all the cases of total resection. Even cases of partial resection revealed no recurrence of symptoms, and no re-operation was needed. The mean JOA score of all patients has improved from 7.8 points to 12.9 points. In conclusion, careful observation is possible in cases of partial resection.
