Using Intraoperative Ultrasonography for Spinal Cord Tumor Surgery

Our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of modern intraoperative ultrasonography (iUS) in the resection of a wide variety of spinal intradural pathologic entities. We evaluated patients with spinal cord disease treated between January 2006 and September 2015. Intraoperative standard B-mode images were acquired using a 3.5-MHz to 12-MHz ultrasonographic probes (linear and curvilinear) on various ultrasound machines. The benefits and disadvantages of iUS were assessed for each case. A total number of 158 intradural spinal lesions were operated on using iUS. Of these, 107 lesions (68%) were intradural extramedullary and 51 (32%) were intramedullary. All lesions were clearly visible using the ultrasound probe. The high-frequency linear probes (10–12 MHz) provided a better image quality compared with lower-frequency probes. Color and power-angiography modes were helpful in assessing the vascularization of the tumors and location of the major vessels in the vascular lesions. We document how iUS was used to facilitate safe and efficient spinal tumor resection at each stage of the operation. iUS was beneficial in confirmation of tumor location and extension, planning myelotomy, and estimation of degree of resection of the intramedullary tumors. It was particularly helpful in guiding the approach in redo surgeries for recurrent spinal cord tumors. iUS has a fast learning curve and offers additional intraoperative information that can help improve surgical accuracy and therefore may reduce procedure-related morbidity.