Role of unilateral percutaneous cervical cordotomy in the treatment of neoplastic vertebral pain

The present study is a long-term report on 69 patients undergoing unilateral percutaneous cervical cordotomy for vertebral pain due to neoplastic bone metastases. The pain was unilateral or bilateral and was characterised by a chronic and/or an incident component. Seventy-one per cent (49/69) of the patients benefitted from the operation, obtaining complete, lasting pain relief or a reduced degree of pain, amenable to control by medication with narcotic or non-narcotic drugs. There was a survival Q(50%) of 5 months (S.E. = 1.6) with no pain and a satisfactory quality of life.