CT-guided percutaneous trochar-biopsy of the spine.

As is the case for tumor lesions of the limbs, for the spine, too, no treatment should be started without a pathological diagnosis. Open biopsy of the spine is always a major surgical procedure with all of the related risks, and the surgeon is frequently tempted to perform, during the same operation, biopsy and definitive treatment. This approach leads many patients to unnecessary major operations, when the final histology shows a disease which does not carry an indication for surgical resection. CT-guided percutaneous Trochar-Biopsy is a safe procedure used to obtain an adequate sample for full histological evaluation. Eliminating the need for biopsy, several major vertebral resections could be avoided. This technique deserves to become the standard first-choice procedure whenever a biopsy of the spine is required.