Excision of Tumor and Spinal Reconstruction

SN is a young woman who has suffered from various previous metastatic cancers, including in the brain.

After a car accident abroad, her right arm hurt severely off-and-on for months. Imaging to determine what could be the problem revealed that she had a new metastatic growth on her spine.

T7 Lesion Cord Compression

She was referred to Dr. Vokshoor, a neurosurgeon specializing in spine. He diagnosed her with metastatic melanoma at T7 and T1 (in the thoracic spine) and a secondary bone metastasis. Upon reviewing her symptoms, her progressive radiculopathy with significant spinal cord compression resulting in myelopathy made it clear that her only option was surgery.

Unfortunately, her insurance would not pay for her surgery. Their decision was appealed to no avail.

INI stepped in and took the lead. We knew she was in a dire situation with limited time. If she waited much longer for surgery, there would be irreversible consequences. She was still young and needed to be able to take care of her two children.

INI alleviated her financial burdens and she was able to have her much needed surgery!

Her intricate procedure was a two-day process. On the first day, she had a corpectomy (removal of the veterbral body) of T7 via right thoracotomy followed by radical diskectomies at T6-8 and reconstruction and fusion of T6-8 through insertion of a titanium expandable biomechanical cage. On the second day, the tumor was excised, her spinal cord was decompressed, and posterior instrumentation (rods and screws) was added to T5-T9.

Since her tumor was removed and her spine was reconstructed, her pain has decreased significantly and she is on her way to a full recovery.