Osteoblastomas of the cervical spine.

Osteoblastomas of the cervical spine frequently occur with anterior vertebral body involvement despite the classical teaching, which suggests that involvement is usually confined to the posterior elements. A review of osteoblastomas that involved the cervical spine was conducted at a single institution over 20 years. Four patients were identified with osteoblastoma of the cervical spine from a total of 13 spinal osteoblastomas, and their conditions were assessed to determine the anatomic extent of neoplastic involvement, the surgical margins obtained at resection, methods of spinal stabilization, and local recurrence rate. A mean follow-up time of 11.4 years was obtained. Posterior surgical extirpation of the neoplasm can successfully be accomplished with good long-term results by achieving intralesional margins. Patients with cervical spine osteoblastomas represent a separate subset from patients with other spinal osteoblastomas because of their unique appearances.