title: Two-level en bloc spondylectomy for osteosarcoma at the cervicothoracic junction.
abstract: En bloc resection of osteosarcoma is critical for a chance at curing the disease. In the spine, a spondylectomy should be performed to optimize the chances of survival. Involvement of two contiguous segments in the spinal column poses technical challenges, and performing a spondylectomy at the cervicothoracic junction adds another set of clinical concerns. We present a 22-year-old female with a two-level vertebral involvement at the cervicothoracic junction who underwent a two-level en bloc spondylectomy for osteosarcoma, and we describe our technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0112, San Francisco, California 94143-0112, USA. choud@neurosurg.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult