[Difficulty in treating spinal chordoma of the thoracic vertebrae]

We report a case of iterative surgery of a spinal chordoma of the 10(th) thoracic vertebra. This kind of neoplasm constitutes 3 to 7% of primary malignant bone tumors. Approximately 50% originate in the sacrum, 35% at the base of the skull and 15% in the true vertebrae. The slow growth delays diagnosis and compromises effective surgical therapy. On the basis of a review of the literature, we advocate an aggressive surgical resection from the beginning, similar to management of solitary vertebral metastasis.