Twelve patients with tumors involving the osseous spine that were treated in Trakya University Hospital be-tween 1991-1995 were evaluated retrospectively. The series included one osteosarcoma, one fibrosarcoma, one aneurysmal bone cyst, two osteoblastomas, one osteochondroma, and six metastatic tumors. These tumors were localized in cervical spine (1 case), thoracic spine (5 cases), lumbar spine (6 cases), both lumbar and thoracic spine (1 case). No patient with benign tumors died. Two patients with osteosarcoma and fibrosarcoma were aiive at the average 33 months after surgery. At the time of the review, in the group of metastatic tumors, there were 2 aiive with an average follow-up of 14 months.
The aims of the surgical treatment of spinai tumors are excision of the tumor, decompression of neural ele-ments, stabilization of the spine, and improving the quailty of survivai.
Keywords: Benign, malignant, metastatic tumor, spine.