Case Report

Cervical Chordoma Mimicking a Pottic Abscess

Khalid Aniba, Mehdi Laghmari, Mohamed Lmejjati, Houceine Ghannane and Said Ait Benali
World Journal of Medical and Surgical Case Reports 2014, 3:4

Abstract

Chordomas are rare tumors that arise from the sacrum, spine, and skull base. Surgical management of these tumors can be difficult, given their locally destructive behavior and predilection for growing near delicate and critical structures. Although en bloc resection has proven to be the ideal procedure in other areas, there is controversy regarding this approach in the cervical spine. En bloc resection can be difficult to perform without damaging adjacent structures and causing significant clinical morbidity. The patient in this case was a 26-year-old woman who presented with quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a large intra and extraspinal vertebral tumor arising from C3-4, a finding that suggested a tuberculous spondylitis. The tumor was completely removed in one stage using the anterior approach, and a corporectomy of C3-4 was also performed. Results from a postoperative histopathological examination confirmed that the tumor was a typical chordoma. The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful.

Keywords

bone tumor • chordoma • cervical spine

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