The relevance of the artery of Adamkiewicz for microsurgical resection of spinal tumors- short overview and case series: technical note

Abstract Introduction: There is of major interest to know the exact anatomical location of artery of Adamkiewicz (AKA) for many spinal microsurgical procedures, so as to avoid postoperative ischemia of the spinal cord, with further devastating clinical impact. Methods and results: We detail the interest of preoperative angiography for medullary lesions in our experience. We further report two cases where the AKA was located at the same level and side with the treated lesion. The first case underwent an intracapsular decompression. The second patient undertook radiosurgery by Cyberknife. Conclusion: For spinal tumor where the AKA is exactly on the same level and side, an intracapsular decompression can be safely performed, with an immediate decrease of the symptomatic mass effect, while decreasing the risk of neurological injury. A second valuable alternative in such situations can also be radiosurgery, for small to medium size tumors. In our experience, this proved safe and effective both for tumor and eventual pain control.