A one sided spine surgery used for tumors in five children
Original title: Unilateral hemilaminectomy for pediatric intradural spinal tumors: a consecutive case series.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a look back at five children who already had this surgery, not a study that tested it against other options.
The short version
Doctors used a smaller spine operation to reach spinal cord tumors in five children, and none of the children later needed treatment for a spine problem.
What was studied. Doctors at one hospital looked back at children aged 16 and under who had surgery for a spinal cord tumor between 2018 and 2023. All of these children had the same kind of operation. It takes bone from only one side of the spine and leaves the other side in place.
What they found. Out of 246 spine tumor operations at the center, 11 were in children. Five of those children had a tumor inside the covering of the spinal cord, and all five had this operation. The whole tumor was removed in three children, almost all of it in one, and part of it in one. The children were followed for 18 to 84 months. In that time, no child needed another operation for the tumor, and none had a spine problem that needed a brace, a referral, or fusion surgery.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: For some spinal cord tumors in children, surgeons may be able to reach the tumor while leaving more of the back of the spine intact. In this small group, that approach still allowed most tumors to be fully removed, and no spine problems showed up in the time the children were watched.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean the operation is proven better than other ways of doing spine surgery. It was a look back at records from only five children at one hospital, and most of them were teenagers. It was not a trial that compared two methods. One child had a hard time. Monitoring during surgery warned of trouble, so the surgeons stopped early, and the child had weakness in the arms and legs after both operations. That weakness went away before the child went home. The doctors also did not take standing X rays, so slow or late changes in the spine could have been missed. This is not a cure, and it does not tell you what surgery is right for any one child. That is a conversation for your own care team.
Source: PubMed, August 3, 2026 · Read the original
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