Bilateral Osteotomy of Pedicles for En Bloc Resection of a Malignant Tumor of the Posterior Thoracic Spine

Abstract

Case: A 45-year-old woman had a grade II chondrosarcoma (T2N0M0G2) located at the spinous processes and laminas of T3-6 with the tumor extension into the spinal canal at T3-4. To perform en bloc tumor resection, we released or disarticulated bilateral costovertebral ligaments from T3-6 and cut the bilateral pedicles at T3-5 all from posteriorly. Then, we completed en bloc resection without violating the tumor capsule. Conclusion:Our novel procedure, bilateral osteotomy of pedicles for en bloc resection successfully allowed for en bloc tumor resection involving the posterior elements with wide surgical margins.Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSCC/B926).