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Treatment of osteoblastoma at C7: a multidisciplinary approach. A case report and review of the literature

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Abstract

Osteoblastoma is a rare benign bone tumor that presents with back pain and occurs in the spine approximately 40% of the time. The time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis is typically several months because it is a rare entity and radiographic studies are often negative early in the course of the disease. These highly vascular and locally aggressive tumors require complete and precise resection. The patient presented is a 15-year-old boy with a 14-month history of right-sided neck and shoulder pain. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a lesion in the posterior elements of C7 which extended through the pedicle and into the body. Preoperative angiography confirmed a hypervascular lesion which was successfully embolized. He subsequently underwent piecemeal tumor resection and instrumented fusion. Immediate postoperative imaging demonstrated complete resection. At 18 months follow up the patient has maintained resolution of preoperative symptoms and demonstrates evidence of solid fusion on CT. This multidisciplinary approach markedly decreased blood loss and improved visualization to help achieve complete surgical resection and resolution of clinical symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has any potential conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shriners Hospital for Children, 3551 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19027, USA

    Amer Samdani

  2. Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Andrew Torre-Healy

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Dean Chou

  4. Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Anne Marie Cahill

  5. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Phillip B. Storm

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  1. Amer Samdani
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  2. Andrew Torre-Healy
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  3. Dean Chou
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  4. Anne Marie Cahill
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  5. Phillip B. Storm
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Correspondence to Amer Samdani.

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Samdani, A., Torre-Healy, A., Chou, D. et al. Treatment of osteoblastoma at C7: a multidisciplinary approach. A case report and review of the literature. Eur Spine J 18 (Suppl 2), 196–200 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-008-0806-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-008-0806-7

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