Emisacrectomy, experience in 11 cases.

Emisacrectomy is a challenging surgery in the treatment of tumours that affect the sacrum. Authors report their experience in 11 cases affected by tumours of the sacrum (9 chordomas, 1 ependymoma, 1 monostotic bladder metastasis) operated on at the Orthopaedic Department of A.S.O S. Giovanni Battista Molinette in Turin, Italy, from 1998 through 2005 discussing planning surgery, level of osteotomy, functional and oncological results and complications of the treatment at a median follow-up of 5 years (range 2-9), describing the surgical and medical teaching learned from the treatment of these patients. Despite the potential complications, emisacrectomy can be performed successfully and is an important procedure in the treatment of sacral tumours.