Combined Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery and Posterior Spinal Surgery for the Treatment of Dumbbell Tumor of the First Thoracic Nerve Root

Although several cases of a dumbbell tumor of thoracic nerve roots have been reported, reports on the surgical procedures for a dumbbell tumor of the first thoracic (T1) nerve root are rare. Surgeons should be cautious, especially when performing a surgical procedure for a dumbbell tumor of the T1 nerve root because the tumor is anatomically located adjacent to important organs and because the T1 nerve root composes the lower trunk of the brachial plexus with the eighth cervical nerve root. We present cases with dumbbell tumors of the T1 nerve root that were treated with combined surgical treatment to remove the tumor. We first performed video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to release the organs anteriorly and then performed posterior spinal surgery in the prone position. The combined VATS and posterior spinal surgery may become a standard surgical procedure for the treatment of dumbbell tumors of the T1 nerve root.