Anterior thoracic corpectomy for spinal cord decompression performed endoscopically

A prospective study was undertaken during the past 3 years to investigate the effectiveness of thoracoscopic corpectomy--endoscopic removal of the vertebral body in 15 cases (8 for pathologic fractures for tumors, 5 for traumatic fractures and 2 for infections). The average age of the patients was 53.2 years (range 28-85 years). The vertebral levels of corpectomy ranged from T3 to L1. The mean operating time was 211 min (range 83-450 min) and the mean estimated blood loss was 890 ml (range 150-2,800 ml). The postoperative morbidity appeared to be more favorable than with open thoracotomy [Alband OW, Corkill G. Thoracic disk herniation: treatment and prognosis. Spine 1979; 4:41-6; Landreneau RJ, Hazelrigg SR, Mack NJ. Postoperative pain-related morbidity: video-assisted thoracic surgery versus thoracotomy. Ann Thorac Surg (in press); McAfee PC. Complications of anterior approaches to the thoracolumbar spine: emphasis on Kaneda instrumentation. Clin Orthop 1994;306:110-9; McAfee PC, Bohlman HH, Yuan HA. Anterior decompression of traumatic thoracolumbar fractures with incomplete neurological deficit using a retroperitoneal approach. J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 1985;67: 89-104; Regan JJ, Mack MJ, Picetti GD, Guyer RD, Hochschuler SH, Rashbaum RF. A comparison of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) with open thoracotomy in thoracic spinal surgery. Today's Ther Trends 1994;11: 203-18.] because the mean chest tube duration was 1.22 days (range 1-3 days), the mean length of time in the intensive care unit was 2 days (range 1-4 days), and the mean length of total hospitalization was 6.5 days (range 2-12 days). Overall, the ability to visualize the anterior surface of the dura during corpectomy was better endoscopically than with open thoracotomy techniques--improved magnification, the ability of the operative assistant to see and therefore suction more efficiently, and the perspective of visualization was improved. It was possible to place the 30 degrees angled endoscope within the defect left by the resected vertebral body and look directly posteriorly at the dura, visualizing the epidural vessels and dural pulsations at close range. The limiting factor in wide application of the technique is the absence of a commercially available internal fixation system that can be applied endoscopically.