Hemangioma of the vertebral column. A report on twenty-three patients with special reference to functional recovery after radiation therapy.

Twenty-three patients with severely symptomatic hemangiomas of the vertebral column were treated by irradiation. Pain in the back and numbness in the limbs were markedly or completely relieved in most of the patients (88% and 80%, respectively). Five out of 7 paraplegic patients recovered sufficiently to be able to walk again. For patients with a severe compression syndrome of the spinal cord, irradiation could be chosen as the primary treatment without preceding surgical decompression. The result of multiple treatment courses with lower doses was not superior to a single course, for which an optimum dose of 30 Gy to 40 Gy/4 to 6 weeks is recommended by the authors.