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Chordoma in the cervical spine managed with en bloc excision
T Fujita1, N Kawahara, T Matsumoto
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kanazawa University, Japan.
Study Design:
En bloc resection of a chordoma in the midcervical vertebral spine was performed.
Objectives:
To document the surgical technique used for en bloc excision of a chordoma arising in the midcervical spine.
Summary Of Background Data:
Malignant tumors arising in long bones are excised en bloc. The authors recently designed a technique for en bloc resection of malignant tumors in the thoracolumbar spine using the T-saw. However, this technique is difficult in tumors of the cervical spine, and there are no previous reports of successful en bloc resection of such tumors.
Methods:
Using an anterior approach, the ipsilateral vertebral artery was ligated. This was followed by sharply cutting the pedicle of the cervical vertebra with a specially designed T-saw.
Results:
En bloc excision of chordomas in the cervical spine was achieved using the T-saw.
Conclusion:
Although the surgical margin was intralesional in a small area, the technique used in this case study indicates that en bloc excision of such tumors can be used with a safety margin even in the cervical spine.
