Chordomas
Chordomas are rare low grade malignant tumours occurring in the lower spinal column (sacrum) or in the base of skull directly in the centre of the head, called the clivus.
They are midline tumours and clival chordomas typically present with visual field defects, double vision and/ or headache.
They rarely metastasise or spread to other parts of the body, but they are locally destructive, infiltrating bone and soft tissue.
Your SANAMI team that assess chordomas includes specialist skull base neurosurgeons and specialist ENT surgeons (Neurotologist and neurorhinologist). The team discusses each case, evaluates the MRI and CT images, and offers the most appropriate management option based on each person’s individual circumstances and tumour. As these are malignant tumours, surgical resection followed by Radiation Therapy will be needed. Along with your specialist team our group only works with specialist trained neurosurgical anaesthetists, neurosurgical/ENT surgical nurses and neurosurgical ICU nurses. Our surgical results compare favourably with the largest and most respected units in the world.
If surgery is appropriate for you and you elect to proceed with the operation, then your first post operative night and day will be in one of Australia’s most respected and largest ICU units, at North Shore Private Hospital. The rest of your aftercare will be in a specialist neurosurgical post operative ward with neurosurgical nurses.
At SANAMI, some of our senior skull base neurosurgeons established the Sydney Neuro-oncology Group (SNOG) for the advancement of molecular research into skull base tumours. If you do decide to proceed with surgery, then we will ask you to agree to include a small portion of your tumour (once it has been removed) in our research. A small piece of the tumour will be removed and sent to the SNOG research centre, in the North Shore Campus, to join one of Australia’s largest molecular skull base tumour databases. The SNOG group are actively researching molecular mechanisms of skull base tumour genetics, growth and development.
Patients with a chordoma expect excellent care. At SANAMI we look forward to providing you with the highest quality, most ethical, comprehensive and compassionate care possible. Visit the SANAMI difference.
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