[Surgical kyphoplasty for management of axis metastasis: technical note kyphoplastie de C2].
C2 vertebral metastases are seldom encountered. They usually cause disabling pain at the upper cervical level and can also result in life-threatening spinal instability. The technique described herein may provide a valuable minimally invasive option for treating this condition. We report a case of C2 metastasis resulting from gastric adenocarcinoma in a 58-year-old male; since there was no spinal instability, open kyphoplasty was performed at C2, resulting in the healing of the body and the base of the odontoid of the C2 vertebra. The X-ray follow-up more than six months after surgery confirmed the absence of any spinal instability at the craniocervical junction. Open kyphoplasty at C2 provides a means to manage a metastasis located in the body of the C2 vertebra. This method maintains the rotatory function of the upper cervical spine, which seems to be a crucial factor, given the poor prognosis usually associated with this condition.
Fuentes
S
S
Service de neurochirurgie, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13005 Marseille, France. sfuentes@ap-hm.f
Métellus
P
P
Pech-Gourg
G
G
Dufour
H
H
Grisoli
F
F
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D054854:Vertebroplasty / Q000379:methods*