 The patient is a 48-year-old woman with a diagnosis of breast cancer made five years ago.  A year ago, she was diagnosed with cranial metastases and underwent whole brain radiation.  She recently has deteriorated such that she came to my office, unable to ambulate in a wheelchair.  Metastatic workup does reveal multiple bone metastases, but no spinal cord compression.  She had a consult with Radiation-Oncology that decided they could radiate her metastases less than 3 cm with stereotactic radiosurgery, but the lesions greater than 3 cm needed to be removed.  Consequently, this operation is performed.