CASE 22: Rectal cancer metastasis to the lumbar spine

• 58-year-old female patient
• Patient with a history of rectal cancer who underwent closed cementation (vertebroplasty) and radiotherapy due to metastasis to the fifth lumbar vertebra.
• The patient presented to us with complaints of back pain and difficulty performing daily tasks.
• Following corpectomy (removal of the tumorous bone) due to L5 vertebral tumor recurrence and fracture (instability), reconstruction of the resulting cavity (elevator titanium cage) and reinforcement with screws (lumbopelvic fixation) was successfully performed.

Before the surgery: The two-way X-ray shows the previously applied cementation process.

Before the surgery: MRI and PET-CT show tumor recurrence, and the CT scan shows a fracture line.

Post-operative: The X-ray shows the implant (titanium elevator cage) and lumbopelvic fixation (screw fixation) placed in place of the fractured and tumorous L5 vertebra that was removed.