{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T10:12:32Z","timestamp":1789035152650,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: When performing a vertebrectomy in the thoracic spine for metastatic disease with a pathological fracture, traditionally, surgeons include two vertebral levels above and below in the instrumented fusion. We evaluated the safety and feasibility of an alternative method involving short-segment instrumentation after a posterior transpedicular thoracic vertebrectomy and reconstruction with pedicle screw fixation at only one level above and below. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our series of thirty consecutive patients treated for non-junctional (T2 to T11), single-level thoracic spinal metastasis via vertebrectomy and reconstruction with posterior short-segment instrumented fusion. The primary outcome was a need for reoperation due to construct failure. The secondary outcomes included local tumor recurrence, neurological function, pain scores, operative time, estimated blood loss, post-operative wound complications, and length of stay. Results: All patients had a minimum Bilsky Grade of 2 and a minimum SINS (Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score) of 10. Two patients suffered perioperative complications, but there was no construct failure or need for revision surgery at any time during the follow-up period. No patients experienced worsening neurological function, and an overall improvement in pain was seen postoperatively (7.67 versus 2.77; p &lt; 0.001; 95% CI: 4.28\u20135.52). The mean intraoperative blood loss was 605 mL (range, 50\u20131200 mL; SD, 314.7 mL), and the mean operative time was 260.73 min (range, 169 to 442 min; SD, 64.4 min). The average length of stay was six days. The median length of the follow-up was 24 months (range, 1\u201365 months; IQR, 12\u201342 months). Three patients in this cohort had local tumor recurrence (two of these patients suffered from a radioresistant tumor pathology). Conclusions: Our results support the safety and feasibility of this less invasive technique in the management of patients suffering from metastatic disease requiring single-level vertebrectomy and reconstruction in the non-junctional thoracic spine.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15187010","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T09:13:03Z","timestamp":1789031583000},"page":"7010","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Feasibility of Using Short-Segment Instrumentation and Vertebral Body Reconstruction for the Treatment of Metastatic Disease in the Thoracic Spine"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2543-5778","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel K.","family":"Fahim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester Hills, MI 48309, USA"},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA"},{"name":"Atlas Spine + Brain, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Aimen","family":"Vanood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ 85054, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Lee-Onn","family":"Chieng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8496-8464","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew","family":"Ragheb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Wissam","family":"El-Fallal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advent Health Medical Group\u2014Neurosurgery, Daytona Beach, FL 32117, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"American Cancer Society (2026, August 07). 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