Thoracic Vertebrectomy Research Articles

How I do it: en-bloc thoracic vertebrectomy.

Some young patients with preserved functional status suffering from aggressive isolated neoplastic disease of the thoracic spine may be eligible from curative en-bloc vertebrectomy surgical treatment. Long-segment posterior pedicle screw fixation is performed. Complete excision of the posterior arch and of ribs posterior aspect is performed. Finger blunt dissection is performed between vertebral body, pleura, and aorta allowing to place a soft abdominal valve and then Gigli saws surrounding the anterior aspect of the spine, in order to saw the upper and the lower discs. Unilateral temporary rod is placed. The vertebral body is dislodged from posterior ligament and then removed by circling laterally around spinal cord. An expandable vertebral implant is placed. Posterior en-bloc thoracic vertebrectomy is a highly technical yet achievable procedure which carries a curative intent for isolated neoplastic spine lesions.

Tomivosertib reduces ectopic activity in dorsal root ganglion neurons from patients with radiculopathy.

Spontaneous activity in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons is a key driver of neuropathic pain in patients suffering from this largely untreated disease. While many intracellular signalling mechanisms have been examined in preclinical models that drive spontaneous activity, none have been tested directly on spontaneously active human nociceptors. Using cultured DRG neurons recovered during thoracic vertebrectomy surgeries, we showed that inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase interacting kinase (MNK) with tomivosertib (eFT508, 25 nM) reversibly suppresses spontaneous activity in human sensory neurons that are likely nociceptors based on size and action potential characteristics associated with painful dermatomes within minutes of treatment. Tomivosertib treatment also decreased action potential amplitude and produced alterations in the magnitude of after hyperpolarizing currents, suggesting modification of Na+ and K+ channel activity as a consequence of drug treatment. Parallel to the effects on electrophysiology, eFT508 treatment led to a profound loss of eIF4E serine 209 phosphorylation in primary sensory neurons, a specific substrate of MNK, within 2 min of drug treatment. Our results create a compelling case for the future testing of MNK inhibitors in clinical trials for neuropathic pain.

RNA profiling of human dorsal root ganglia reveals sex differences in mechanisms promoting neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a leading cause of high-impact pain, is often disabling and is poorly managed by current therapeutics. Here we focused on a unique group of neuropathic pain patients undergoing thoracic vertebrectomy where the dorsal root ganglia is removed as part of the surgery allowing for molecular characterization and identification of mechanistic drivers of neuropathic pain independently of preclinical models. Our goal was to quantify whole transcriptome RNA abundances using RNA-seq in pain-associated human dorsal root ganglia from these patients, allowing comprehensive identification of molecular changes in these samples by contrasting them with non-pain-associated dorsal root ganglia. We sequenced 70 human dorsal root ganglia, and among these 50 met inclusion criteria for sufficient neuronal mRNA signal for downstream analysis. Our expression analysis revealed profound sex differences in differentially expressed genes including increase of IL1B, TNF, CXCL14 and OSM in male and CCL1, CCL21, PENK and TLR3 in female dorsal root ganglia associated with neuropathic pain. Coexpression modules revealed enrichment in members of JUN-FOS signalling in males and centromere protein coding genes in females. Neuro-immune signalling pathways revealed distinct cytokine signalling pathways associated with neuropathic pain in males (OSM, LIF, SOCS1) and females (CCL1, CCL19, CCL21). We validated cellular expression profiles of a subset of these findings using RNAscope in situ hybridization. Our findings give direct support for sex differences in underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain in patient populations.

Cost Analysis With Use of Expandable Cage or Cement in Single level Thoracic Vertebrectomy in Metastasis.

Study Design:Retrospective case series.Objective:Patient with metastatic cancer frequently require spinal operations for neural decompression and stabilization, most commonly thoracic vertebrectomy with reconstruction. Objective of the study was to assess economic aspects associated with use of cement versus expandable cage in patients with single level thoracic metastatic disease. We also looked at the differences in the clinical, radiological, complications and survival differences to assess non-inferiority of PMMA over cages.Methods:The electronic medical records of patients undergoing single level thoracic vertebrectomy and reconstruction were reviewed. Two groups were made: PMMA and EC. Totals surgical cost, implant costs was analyzed. We also looked at the clinical/ radiological outcome, complication and survival analysis.Results:96 patients were identified including 70 one-level resections. For 1-level surgeries, Implant costs for use of cement—$75 compared to $9000 for cages. Overall surgical cost was significantly less for PMMA compared to use of EC. No difference was seen in clinical outcome or complication was seen. We noticed significantly better kyphosis correction in the PMMA group.Conclusions:Polymethylmethacrylate cement offers significant cost advantage for reconstruction after thoracic vertebrectomy. It also allows for better kyphosis correction and comparable clinical outcomes and non-inferior to cages.

Soft-Tissue Reconstruction after Composite Vertebrectomy and Chest Wall Resection for Spinal Tumors.

Oncologic resections involving both the spine and chest wall commonly require immediate soft-tissue reconstruction. The authors hypothesized that reconstructions of composite resections involving both the thoracic spine and chest wall would have a higher complication rate than reconstructions for resections limited to the thoracic spine alone. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients who underwent a thoracic vertebrectomy and soft-tissue reconstruction from 2002 to 2017. Patients were divided into two groups: those whose defect was limited to the thoracic spine and those who required a composite resection involving the chest wall. One hundred patients were included. Composite resection patients had larger defects, as indicated by a greater incidence of multilevel vertebrectomies (70.2 percent versus 17 percent; p = 0.001). Thoracic spine patients were older (58.2 ± 10.4 years versus 48.6 ± 13.9 years; p < 0.001) and had a greater incidence of metastatic disease (88.7 percent versus 38.3 percent; p = 0.001). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that composite resections were not significantly associated with a higher rate of surgical, medical, or overall complications. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of composite resection subgroup demonstrated that flap separation of the spinal cord from the intrapleural space was protective against complications (OR, 0.22; 95 percent CI, 0.05 to 0.81; p = 0.03). Despite the large defect size in composite resection patients, there was no increase in complications compared to thoracic spine patients. In composite resection patients, separating the exposed spinal cord from the intrapleural space with well-vascularized soft tissue was protective against complications. Risk, II.

Feasibility of thoracic nerve root preservation in posterior transpedicular vertebrectomy with anterior column cage insertion: a cadaveric study

Transpedicular thoracic vertebrectomy (TTV) is a safe alternative to the more standard transthoracic approach. A TTV is most commonly used to address vertebral body fractures due to tumor or trauma. Transpedicular reconstruction of the anterior column with cage/bone traditionally requires unilateral thoracic nerve root sacrifice. In a cadaveric model, the authors evaluated the feasibility of transpedicular anterior column reconstruction without nerve root sacrifice. If feasible, this may be a reasonable approach that could be extended to the lumbar spine where nerve root sacrifice is not an option. A TTV was performed in 8 fixed cadaveric specimens. In each specimen, an alternate vertebra (either odd or even) was removed so that single-level reconstruction could be evaluated. The vertebrectomy included facetectomy, adjacent discectomies, and laminectomy; however, the nerve roots were preserved. The authors then evaluated the feasibility of inserting a titanium mesh cage (Medtronic Sofamor Danek) without neural sacrifice. Transpedicular anterior cage reconstruction could be safely performed at all levels of the thoracic spine without nerve root sacrifice. The internerve root space varied from 18 mm at T2-3 to 27 mm at T11-12; thus, the size of the cage that was used also varied with level. Cage reconstruction of the anterior column could be safely performed via the transpedicular approach without nerve root sacrifice in this cadaveric study. Removal of the proximal part of the rib in addition to a standard laminectomy with transpedicular vertebrectomy provided an excellent corridor for anterior cage reconstruction at all levels of the thoracic spine without nerve root sacrifice.

Fracture-related Thoracic Kyphotic Deformity Correction by Single-stage Posterolateral Vertebrectomy With Circumferential Reconstruction and Stabilization

This paper is a retrospective chart review. This study assesses single-stage thoracic vertebrectomy with circumferential reconstruction and stabilization. Preoperative and postoperative thoracic kyphotic angles and other outcomes are analyzed. Pathologic and traumatic thoracic vertebral body fracture deformity can be corrected by an anterior vertebral body corpectomy and reconstruction. If the pathology is primarily posterior, then laminectomy and posterolateral instrumentation may be preferred. In some patients, simultaneous anterior and posterior correction of instability and fracture is necessary and is now possible with a single-stage Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) technique with similar results to the traditional 2-stage approach. Thirty patients who underwent 31 single-stage thoracic vertebrectomies with circumferential reconstructions for thoracic spine fractures between 2004 and 2006 at SUMC were retrospectively reviewed. All surgeries were performed prone; operative technical details are reported. The preoperative and postoperative thoracic kyphotic angles were measured by Cobb angle evaluation using lateral chest plain films and magnetic resonance imaging. Other outcome measures evaluated included operative time, blood loss, neurologic and functional outcomes, postoperative pain, and treatment complications. The mean follow-up was 17.21 months (range: 9 to 30 mo) and preoperative kyphosis was 20.4 degrees (range: 6.0 to 57.9 degrees). The average postoperative kyphosis was 8.3 degrees (range: 1.8 to 2.67 degrees) and correction of kyphosis was 16.2 degrees (range: 6 to 30 degrees). The median estimated blood loss was 1411.67 mL (range: 300 to 4000 mL) and mean operating time was 4.8 hours (range: 2.8 to 8.6 h). Complications included 2 hardware failures requiring revision, 2 infections, and 1 dural laceration. Pain, Frankel Grade, and functional status were improved in all, except 1 preoperatively bedridden patient. Thoracic kyphotic correction is possible through a prone single-stage simultaneous anterior vertebrectomy and posterior reconstruction. Sufficient anterior and posterior correction of instability and fracture using the SUMC technique is possible with similar results to the traditional 2-stage approach.

Thoracic vertebrectomy and spinal reconstruction via anterior, posterior, or combined approaches: clinical outcomes in 91 consecutive patients with metastatic spinal tumors

Adequate decompression of the thoracic spinal cord often requires a complete vertebrectomy. Such procedures can be performed from an anterior/transthoracic, posterior, or combined approach. In this study, the authors sought to compare the clinical outcomes of patients with spinal metastatic tumors undergoing anterior, posterior, and combined thoracic vertebrectomies to determine the efficacy and operative morbidity of such approaches. A retrospective review was conducted of all patients undergoing thoracic vertebrectomies at a single institution over the past 7 years. Characteristics of patients and operative procedures were documented. Neurological status, perioperative variables, and complications were assessed and associations with each approach were analyzed. Ninety-one patients (mean age 55.5 +/- 13.7 years) underwent vertebrectomies via an anterior (22 patients, 24.2%), posterior (45 patients, 49.4%), or combined anterior-posterior approach (24 patients, 26.4%) for metastatic spinal tumors. The patients did not differ significantly preoperatively in terms of neurological assessments on the Nurick and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment scales, ambulatory ability, or other comorbidities. Anterior approaches were associated with less blood loss than posterior approaches (1172 +/- 1984 vs 2486 +/- 1645 ml, respectively; p = 0.03) or combined approaches (1172 +/- 1984 vs 2826 +/- 2703 ml, respectively; p = 0.05) but were associated with a similar length of stay compared with the other treatment cohorts (11.5 +/- 9.3 [anterior] vs 11.3 +/- 8.6 [posterior] vs 14.3 +/- 6.7 [combined] days; p = 0.35). The posterior approach was associated with a higher incidence of wound infection compared with the anterior approach cohort (26.7 vs 4.5%, respectively; p = 0.03), and patients in the posterior approach group experienced the highest rates of deep vein thrombosis (15.6% [posterior] vs 0% [other 2 groups]; p = 0.02). However, the posterior approach demonstrated the lowest incidence of pneumothorax (4.4%; p < 0.0001) compared with the other 2 cohorts. Duration of chest tube use was greater in the combined patient group compared with the anterior approach cohort (8.8 +/- 6.2 vs 4.7 +/- 2.3 days, respectively; p = 0.01), and the combined group also experienced the highest rates of radiographic pleural effusion (83.3%; p = 0.01). Postoperatively, all groups improved neurologically, although functional outcome in patients undergoing the combined approach improved the most compared with the other 2 groups on both the Nurick (p = 0.04) and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment scales (p = 0.03). Decisions regarding the approach to thoracic vertebrectomy may be complex. This study found that although anterior approaches to the thoracic vertebrae have been historically associated with significant pulmonary complications, in our experience these rates are nevertheless quite comparable to that encountered via a posterior or combined approach. In fact, the posterior approach was found to be associated with a higher risk for some perioperative complications such as wound infection and deep vein thromboses. Finally, the combined anteriorposterior approach may provide greater ambulatory and neurological improvements in properly selected patients.