[Late cervicodorsal metastasis of thyroid adenocarcinoma treated by anterior cervicotomy]

Metastasis from a thyroid adenocarcinoma is a rare entity with high mortality. We describe an unusual case in a woman displaying tetraparesis due to a late cervico-dorsal metastasis operated on via a simple anterior cervicotomy. Outcome was good at eighteen months follow-up. The histological diagnosis was follicular adenocarcinoma. The development of a vertebral metastasis from a thyroid adenocarcinoma 11 years after the treatment of the primitive cancer is rare. The anterior cervico-dorsal location in this patient required decompression via an anterior approach. Surgical treatment of the tumor and spinal stabilization were possible via a simple anterior cervicotomy which allowed adequate access to the third thoracic vertebra, without sternotomy or thoracotomy.