Spine tumors comprise a small percentage of reasons for back pain and other symptoms originating in the spine. The majority of the tumors involving the spinal column are metastases of visceral organ cancers which are mostly seen in older patients. Primary musculoskeletal system sarcomas involving the spinal column are rare. Benign tumors and tumor-like lesions of the musculoskeletal system are mostly seen in young patients and often cause instability and canal compromise. Optimal diagnosis and treatment of spine tumors require a multidisciplinary approach and thorough knowledge of both spine surgery and musculoskeletal tumor surgery. Either primary or metastatic tumors involving the spine are demanding problems in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Spinal instability and neurological compromise are the main and critical problems in patients with tumors of the spinal column. In the past, only a few treatment options aiming short-term control were available for treatment of primary and metastatic spine tumors. Spine surgeons adapted their approach for spine tumors according to orthopaedic oncologic principles in the last 20 years. Advances in imaging, surgical techniques and implant technology resulted in better diagnosis and surgical treatment options, especially for primary tumors. Also, modern chemotherapy drugs and regimens with new radiotherapy and radiosurgery options caused moderate to long-term local and systemic control for even primary sarcomas involving the spinal column. Core tip: Primary tumors involving the spine are rare, while spinal column metastases are present in up to 70% of cancer patients. Both primary and metastatic tumors of the spine are often asymptomatic or have non-specific symptoms because in spine tumors, delayed diagnosis is not very unusual. Goal of treatment in spinal column metastases is to optimize the patient's quality of life by providing effective pain relief and preserving or restoring neurological functions. Treatment strategy for primary tumors should be planned after both oncological and surgical staging. Because of that, biopsy is a very important step in primary tumors. Surgery in metastatic MINIREVIEWS 109February 18, 2016|Volume 7|Issue 2|

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Osteoid osteoma is a very painful benign bone tumor that affects young adults. It is exceptional before 5 and after 30 years of age. It can be seen in any part of the skeleton. Presentation of the tumor may be intracortical, juxta-cortical or cancellous. In long bones, the tumor is frequently intracortical, and in the spine, it is usually located at the posterior elements. Osteoid osteomas having radiologic and clinical features other than classical presentation of osteoid osteoma are called atypical osteoid osteomas. Atypical osteoid osteomas are important because the diagnosis and treatment are often complicated in these cases. Misdiagnosis with prolonged impairment and sometimes overtreatment appears as a major problem concerning atypical osteoid osteomas. This paper gives brief general information about the classical presentation of osteoid osteoma, discusses the pathogenesis of the lesion and focuses on the clinical presentation, radiologic features and characteristics of atypical osteoid osteomas as well as their treatment modalities.

Traumatic hemipelvectomy is a life threatening, devastating pelvic injury with very low survival rates. Excessive loss of blood, related systemic problems and additional injuries about the gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems increase mortality of this severe sort of injury. A young, male farmer injured violently by an agricultural heavy machine; a survivor of traumatic hemipelvectomy is described in this case report.

Background. The aim of the study is to analyze the major agricultural injuries related to the extremities. Patients. We evaluated a 3-year period including 41 patients. Data on age, sex, injury patterns, anatomical localizations, injury season, length of stay in the hospital, and infections were evaluated, and the patients were examined with SF-36 in the follow-up period. Results. Hand was the most commonly injured part (n: 9) followed by the distal part of the lower limb (cruris) (n: 7) and foot (n: 7). Mean time between trauma and emergency-department arrival was 115 minutes (60–360). Mean length of stay was 24 days (4–150), and mean number of operations during hospitalization was 2.4 (1–30). Deep wound infection was seen in 8 patients. Seasonal distribution for accidents was even for spring and fall (27% each), high for summer (36%), and less for winter (10%). Conclusions. Distal parts of the elbow and knee were affected more frequently. Due to the high microbiological load and high incidence of crush-type injuries, repetitive debridements and long duration of hospital stay were needed. Attention should be paid in the harvesting times to the farmyard injuries. Due to the seasonal variation, more resources should be allocated to treat the increasing incidence of injury over the period from spring to fall.