Chordomas involving the cervical spine are best treated by surgical resection and post-operative radiotherapy. Excision of these tumors can be complicated by injury to surrounding soft tissues and neurovascular structures. We report a case of a cervical chordoma resection during which time the left vertebral artery was injured, requiring aneurysm clip sacrifice and the modification of the vertebral body implant to accommodate the applier end of the clips. The implant was modified with the removal of a small portion of one side to accommodate the proximal ends of aneurysm clips. The patient remained neurologically intact without cerebrovascular insult. Modification of the implant did not affect the structural integrity of the corpectomy implant, the planning of radiation therapy, or the final clinical result. At 2.5 years from surgery, the patient remains clinically well with no evidence of recurrence and no structural failure of the implant.
Rothrock et al. (Thu,) studied this question.