Multiple segment total en bloc vertebrectomy and chest wall resection in a dog with an invasive myxosarcoma

A 9.5-year-old, 22.6 kg, castrated male mixed breed dog was diagnosed with a paravertebral myxosarcoma invading into the T9–T11 vertebrae and dorsal left-sided thoracic wall. A total multisegment vertebrectomy of T9–T12 and chest wall resection of the left 8th–12th ribs were performed to resect the tumour en bloc. A patient-specific, three-dimensional implant was designed and printed to reconstruct the defect in the vertebral column following resection of the tumour. This implant was supplemented with four 2.7 mm string-of-pearl plates. The chest wall defect was reconstructed with a latissimus dorsi muscle flap. Postoperative complications included neurological deterioration, and necrosis of the latissimus dorsi muscle flap resulting in marked pneumothorax and cardiorespiratory arrest 17 days postoperatively.