Chordoma: En Bloc Resection and Other Management Strategies

Chordomas are rare primary malignant spine tumors that occur in one out of every one million people. As rare as chordomas are, neurosurgeons with the extensive training and experience required to remove them are even more uncommon. Jean-Paul Wolinsky, MD, of Northwestern Medicine, is one of a handful of surgeons in the country capable of performing en bloc chordoma resections. Dr. Wolinsky is a professor of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, vice chair of Strategy and Operations in the Department of Neurological Surgery, and a member of Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute of Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He joins this episode of Better Edge to discuss his unique surgical technique, as well as investigational therapies for chordoma.