Surgical nuances of circumferential lumbar spondylectomy: A case report and short literature review

BACKGROUND: Chordomas are uncommon malignant bone tumors that are often minimally symptomatic for several years. By the time they are diagnosed, these lesions are typically large, involve major neural, bony, and vascular structures, and are no longer readily resectable. This leads to a high recurrence rate. CASE DESCRIPTION: In this case report, we present a 67-year-old male with nonmechanical axial back pain, neurogenic claudication, and a large mass centered at the L3 level on magnetic resonance imaging consistent with a locally invasive chordoma. The patient underwent surgical resection that required a complete lumbar spondylectomy utilizing a three-stage approach, leading to incomplete tumor excision. The patient's residual postoperative symptoms included paresthesias/numbness in the right anterior thigh and a partial (4/5) right-sided foot drop. At the time of discharge, there were plans for future proton beam therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Because of their relative resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, the optimal surgical management of chordomas is gross total en-bloc excision. Unfortunately, this is rarely feasible.