Seven patients with a malignant tumor were treated for spinal
instability with Luque-rod fixation either with or without bone-grafting.
The stabilization was successful in all patients, including five who died
as a result of the tumor between six and eighteen months postoperatively.
Two patients were still alive at an average of twenty-two months after
operation. The only complication that was directly related to the procedure
was cutting through the lamina of a fixation wire.