In a first-of-its-kind procedure, US surgeons successfully removed a spinal tumor through a patient’s eye socket.
The patient, 19-year-old Karla Flores from Maryland, began experiencing blurred and double vision while learning to drive in 2013. A subsequent scan revealed a rare malignant tumor called chordoma pressing against her left eye. Chordomas are slow-growing yet dangerous cancers that can appear gelatinous, fluid, or even calcified, The Washington Post reported.
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Flores was referred to Dr. Mohamed AM Labib at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The first surgery in April 2024 involved temporarily removing part of her skull to extract a large portion of the tumor. However, doctors soon discovered a second mass near her cervical spine, posing a significant risk of paralysis if left untreated.
Facing limited surgical options, Dr. Labib and his team devised an innovative approach: accessing the tumor through the lower eye socket — a route previously only proposed in medical literature. The traditional method of approaching the mass through the neck, mouth, or nose posed higher risks of infection, limited access, or potential damage.
After nearly 19 hours of operation, the surgeons carefully accessed and removed the spinal tumor, avoiding significant pressure on the eye and delicate structures around the spine. Flores, later, underwent further stabilisation procedures and proton therapy to target any remaining tumor cells. While she still wears a neck brace and experiences some pain, her latest scans show no signs of cancer recurrence.
