Objective      To explore the clinical outcome of one stage total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) for thoracic tumor treatment through posterior approach.       Methods      From January 2010 to October 2012

18 patients undertaken one stage TES for thoracic tumor treatment through posterior approach in our hospital were enrolled in this study. Th

ere were 11 males and 7 females

aged 18-64 years

with mean age of 43.7 years. Five cases of primary thoracic tumor and 13 cases of metastatic tumor were included. Double segmental consecutive tumor lesions were found in 2 cases and the rest had single segmental lesions. According to Tomita stage system

there were 11 cases of stage Ⅳ and 7 cases of stage Ⅴ. Neurological function in all patients included

according to Frankel grade

0 case of A grade

4 cases of B grade

2 cases of C grade

7 cases of D grade and 5 cases of E grade. The VAS scores and SF-36 scale were recorded at the time of pre-operation

4 weeks

3 months

6 months and 12 months after the operation

and the last follow-up

respectively.       Results      All the operations had operative time of 235-420 min (average 280 min) and blood loss 1 000-3 400 mL (average 2 300 mL). All the patients reported significantly alleviated or disappeared pain in 4 weeks after operation. VAS pain score was significant reduced from 8.5±0.2 before operation to 2.6±0.4 in 4 weeks after operation (

P

<

0.05). Postoperative quality of life was improved significantly. Six months after operation

SF-36 score improved from an average of 43±9 points before operation to an average of 81±8 points (

P

<

0.05). Three months after operation

neurological function assessed by Frankel grade returned to normal in 12 cases

C grade in 4 cases

and D grade in 2 cases.        Conclusion      A posterior TES can complete resect thoracic spinal cord tumor

decompress the spinal tumor

improve nerve function

prolong survival time

relieve pain significantly

and reduce local recurrence effectively.