Limited approach to a thoracic spine osteoblastoma

Osteoblastoma (OB) is a rare primary benign bone tumor. It generally occurs in the axial skeleton, where it preferentially involves the neural arch. The peak incidence of this neoplasm is in the first two decades of life. Female/male ratio is 2:1. It is important to differentiate OB from osteoid osteoma, a very similar bone tumor. Neuroradiological imaging are diagnostics in most of the cases. This article describes a 18-year-old female affected from a thoracic osteoblastoma stemming from T9 lamina and extending to T11, with a diameter of about 2.5 cm. The patient complained of dorsal pain with progressive weakness to lower limbs. A dorsal approach was performed with a right partial T9 and T11 right laminectomy with total T10 right laminectomy. The mass was totally removed by a limited approach, with no consequent instability and no reason for any stabilization. OB is rare benign bone neoplasm that generally affect the posterior elements of the spine. Surgery is the treatment of choice in this kind of lesions: total removal is effective with no recurrence. When the lesion is placed in the cervical and thoracic spine the goal is to decompress spinal cord and reach the stability of the spine.