When spinal cord compression is threatened, early assessment
and timely treatment with radiation or surgery may improve
adaptation dramatically by decreasing the pain and suffering
of these patients and preventing complications
associated with immobility. Surgical stabilization generally is
reserved for patients with impending neurologic compromise
or for those who require pathologic identification. For patients
who have undergone surgical decompression, more than 60%
benefit from obtaining an adequate neurologic recovery, although
patients with rapid neurologic compromise have a
worsened prognosis (Harrington, 1986). In most cases, however,
radiation therapy and high-dose steroids are the treatments
of choice.