Radiographic Rate and Clinical Impact of Pseudarthrosis in Spine Radiosurgery for Metastatic Spinal Disease

Purpose Pseudarthrosis within the spine tumor population is increased from perioperative radiation and complex stabilization for invasive and recurrent pathology. We report the radiographic and clinical rates of pseudarthrosis following multiple courses of instrumented fusion and perioperative stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods We performed a single institution review of 418 patients treated with non-isocentric SRS for spine between October 2002 and January 2013, identifying those with spinal instrumentation and greater than six months of follow-up. Surgical history, radiation planning, and radiographic outcomes were documented. Results Eleven patients who met criteria for inclusion underwent 21 sessions of spinal SRS and 16 instrumented operations. Radiographic follow-up was 48.9 months; 3/11 (27%) were with radiographic hardware failure, and one (9%) separate case ultimately warranted externalization due to tumor recurrence. SRS was administered to treat progression of disease in 12/21 (57%) procedures, and residual lesions in 7/11 (64%) procedures. Following first and second SRS, 8/11 (73%) and 2/7 (29%) patients were with symptomatic improvement, respectively. Conclusion Risk of pseudarthrosis following SRS for patients with oncologic spinal lesions will become increasingly apparent with the optimized management of and survival from spinal pathologies. We highlight how the need for local control outpaces the risk of instrumentation failure.