Abstract

The role of surgery for metastases to the vertebra from yolk sac tumours has not been established. The main treatment for disseminated disease is chemotherapy. We present a man in his 30s with a left orchiectomy for a testicular mixed germ cell tumour with a prominent yolk sac component who, 12 months later, developed an asymptomatic metastasis to the L2 vertebra unresponsive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The patient underwent resection of the L2 vertebral body, leaving a small residual tumour anterior to the vertebra attached to the great vessels. Pathology confirmed the diagnosis of a metastatic testicular yolk sac tumour in the vertebra. The postoperative MRI 6 months later demonstrated significant expansion of the tumour at the soft tissues anterior to the expandable titanium cage encasing the great vessels and extending to the paraspinal areas. Additional salvage surgery was not recommended because of the advanced stage of the tumour.