ABSTRACT

Surgical treatment of spinal metastases is controversial, largely because of a lack of cont-rolled clinical studies comparing the many ava-ilable treatment modalities. The lack of a valida-ted set of criteria to predict bony instability and neurological comprimise have made it diffucult for surgeon to decide which treatment modality is best for each patient. Classification systems that assist surgeons in determining appropriate operative candidates have been proposed and knowledge of these systems aid the surgeon in developing the most appropriate treatment plan for each patient. In this review we discuss clas-sification systems that assist in determining appropriate operative canditates.