Cutaneous Metastasis via Surgical Planes After Lumbar Spinal Reconstruction for Spinal Metastatic Disease

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and the third most common cause of female cancer mortality. It frequently metastasizes to the osseous spine and has been rarely reported to cause cutaneous metastases at gynecologic surgical scars.

A 63-year-old woman with known metastatic cervical squamous cell carcinoma presented with a pathologic fracture of the L2 vertebra, unrelenting back pain, bilateral lower extremity weakness, and inability to ambulate. The patient elected to undergo an L2 corpectomy with intervertebral cage placement via the right-sided retroperitoneal approach followed by percutaneous L1-L4 pedicle screw instrumentation in the same operative setting. Her immediate postoperative course was uneventful. Eight weeks after surgery, both her flank and posterior incisions became painful and swollen. She underwent irrigation and debridement of the right flank incision due to elevated inflammatory markers and concern for surgical site infection. Multiple intraoperative cultures were obtained and were ultimately negative for bacterial or fungal growth. Several weeks later, the patient presented with worsening painful growths of her incisions. Excisional biopsy and debulking of the masses in the operating room revealed squamous cell carcinoma with areas of cystic change and tumor necrosis consistent with progression of the patient's metastatic cervical cancer.

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma can metastasize regionally via surgical planes and manifest as cutaneous lesions. Local metastasis should be included in the differential in cases of postoperative wound complications.