An expandable prosthesis with dual cage-and-plate function in a single device for vertebral body replacement: clinical experience on 14 cases with vertebral tumors.

An expandable vertebral body prosthesis with dual cage-and-plate function in a single device (JR prosthesis) was designed to test the hypothesis that this modular system can provide the biomechanical requirements for immediate and durable spine stabilization after corpectomy. Cadaver assays were performed with a stainless steal device to test fixation and adequacy to the human spine anatomy. Then, 14 patients with vertebral tumors (eight metastatic) underwent corpectomy and vertebral body replacement with a titanium-made JR prosthesis.