Fibrous dysplasia of the thoracic spine

Abstract

Fibrous dysplasia occurs rarely in the spine, especially in the thoracic spine. According to the literature, less than 20 cases have been reported. We report in this paper a 48-year-old female patient with fibrous dysplasia of the first thoracic spine and left side of the first rib with left thoracic first root compression. She complained of severe pain of the left arm, numbness on the ulnar side of the left forearm, and weakness of the middle to little fingers. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed the characteristic appearance of fibrous dysplasia, which includes ground-glass opacity, an expansile nature, and lytic lesions with sclerotic rims. She underwent surgical intervention with radical tumor resection combined with stabilization and fusion with a mesh graft. The pain was relieved. The thoracic first root compression signs improved after the operation. Nineteen months after the operation, there was no recurrence of the tumor. We suggest that radical tumor resection combined with stabilization and fusion with an anterior or posterior approach using a mesh graft for thoracic fibrous dysplasia can achieve definite decompression and prevent tumor recurrence.