• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.532-536
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• 2013

Charcot spine is a progressive and destructive process that affects the vertebral bodies, intervertebral discs, and posterior facets. It is the result from repetitive microtrauma in patients who have decreased joint protective mechanisms due to loss of deep pain and proprioceptive sensation, typically because of spinal cord injury. The objective of the study is to report an unusual case of Charcot spine, as a late complication of traumatic spinal cord injury, treated by a circumferential arthrodesis performed with a single staged posterolateral costotransversectomy approach.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1080-1084
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• 2000

Spinal neurenteric cyst results from the persistence of an abnormal communication between endodermal and ne-uroectodermal layer. Embryologically, neurenteric cyst is derived from endoderm that is fused with the developing notochord during the third week of gestation. It is a rare malformation that lead to spinal cord compression. The patient is 19-year-old male presented with chest pain, paresthesia and progressive weakness in his low extremities(grade II/II). Preoperative MR imaging revealed intradural extramedullary cyst with intracystic hemorrhage in T1 and T2 level that is ventrally located and compressed the spinal cord. Involved vertebral bodies were scalloped and fused. The cystic tumor were totally removed through costotransversectomy approach. Postoperatively, motor weakness of the low extremities were improved to the level of grade IV/V. And chest pain and paresthesia were gradually disappeared. Postoperative MR imaging showed the decompression of the thoracic spinal cord. Histologic examination revealed a ciliated columnar epithelial neurenteric cyst. The pre- and postoperative clinical, radiological features of a case of upper thoracic neurenteric cyst is described with review of literature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.574-579
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• 2000

Chordomas are rare central nervous system tumors that are found predominantly in the sacrococcygeal(50%) and basiosphenoidal region(35%). Most of the remainder are related to the vertebral bodies and only 1 to 2% of them are known to occur in the thoracic vertebrae. A 15-year-old girl was admitted because of paraparesis. Three months prior to admission, she underwent a lumbar laminectomy at other hospital for the treatment of herniated lumbar disc but paraparesis became rather aggravated after the operation. At admission, MRI showed a low signal T1WI, high signal T2WI mass compressing the cord at T2 vertebral body. The tumor was subtotally removed via costotransversectomy but as the tumor was proven to be a chordoma, a second stage operation via anterior route was followed. At second operation, T2 corpectomy and T1-T3 plate fixation with autogeneous ileac bone graft was performed. Shortly after the operation, preoperative paraparesis disappeared completely and no evidence of tumor recurrence was noticed both clinically and radiologically for next 2 years. Spine surgery at cervicothoracic junction may be technically demanding due to anatomical complexity and hindering large vessels. The authers reviewed this case with special emphasis on the surgical procedure in this region.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1071-1074
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• 1995

Approximately 9.8% of neurogenic tumors of the mediastinum extend into the spinal column so that the composite neoplastic mass was dumbbell shaped. We experienced three patients confirmed by Dumbbell shaped mediastinal tumor radiologically and tried surgical resection by posterolateral thoracotomy only corpectomy and costotransversectomy was performed simultaneously in three patients and interbody fusion in two. In one patient the diagnosis was liposarcoma and in 1 neuroblastoma and in 1 neurilemmoma. then followed by radiation theraphy in case I and radiation and chemotheraphy in case II. All three cases showed satisfactory results clinically and radiographically.