Surgical treatment of metastatic mesenchymal chondrosarcoma to the spine: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Metastatic mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of the spine is a highly unusual disease without standard curative managements yet. The objective of this case report is to present a very rare case of metastatic chondrosarcoma to the spine successfully operated by surgical treatment. The management of these unique cases has yet to be well-documented. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 34-year-old woman presented with a 4-month history of continuous and progressive back pain and a 1-month history of radiating pain of bilateral lower extremities. The patient, who had been diagnosed of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of maxillary sinus for 3 years, received surgical treatment of palliative endoscopic-assisted total left maxillary resection via mini Caldwell-Luc approach, and palliative enlarged resection due to the progress of residual lesions, followed by no adjuvant therapy. Multiple lytic, expanding lesions of the spine and paraspinal region with severe epidural spinal cord compression was identified. DIAGNOSIS: CT, MRI and bone scan of spine showed spinal cord compression secondary to the epidural component of the metastatic lesions. Post-operative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic spinal mesenchymal chondrosarcomas. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent posterior spinal canal decompression, resection of T12 and L3 lesions, internal fixation of T11-L5 pedicles, and cement augmentation of T12 and L3. OUTCOMES: The patient's neurological deficits improved significantly after the surgery, and the postoperative period was uneventful at the 1-year follow-up visit. There were no complications associated with the spinal surgery during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Metastatic spinal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, although rare, should be part of the differential diagnosis when the patient presents with back pain and radiculopathy. We recommend the posterior approach for spinal decompression and total resection of the metastatic chondrosarcoma when the tumor has caused neurological deficits or other severe symptoms. Osteoplasty by cement augmentation is also a good choice for surgical treatment in some patients.