Clinical Findings and Results of Surgical Resection in 19 Cases of Spinal Osteoid Osteoma

STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cases series. PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical findings and results of conventional surgery in patients with spinal osteoid osteoma (OO). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: OO is a rare benign tumor with spinal involvement rate of about 10%-20%. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted on 19 patients (11 males and 8 females with an average age of 19.8 years) with documented histopathological and imaging findings of OO referred to a university hospital. Neurologic symptoms and pain were scored before and after the open surgical excision. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver. 16 software using chi-square and significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: The most common complaint was back or neck pain (84.2%) and in 68.4% spinal deformity (mostly scoliosis) shown with an average cobb angle of 21degrees at presentation. The sites of involvement were 35% in the lumbar, 35% in the thoracic, 25% in the cervical, and 5% in the sacrum. Lamina was the most common site (50%) of involvement with predilection for the right side (p=0.001). All patients were treated by conventional surgical excision with a complete recovery of pain and deformity. No recurrence occurred after a mean follow up of 44.5 months, but 4 of 19 cases instrumented because of induced instability. In one case there were two levels of involvement (C7-T1) simultaneously. Interestingly, 10 out of 19 of our cases belonged to a specific race (Bakhtiari). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical intra-lesional curettage is potentially an effective method without any recurrence, which can lead to spontaneous scoliosis recovery and pain relief. Race may be a potential risk factor for spinal (OO).

Intraosseous ganglion cyst of olecranon

Intraosseous ganglia are benign cysts that usually can be seen in lower extremity; especially around ankle.These cysts have fewer incidences in upper extremity, mainly around the wrist. They are extremely rare in olecranon. These lesions are often asymptomatic. Patient was a 75-year-old man who had trauma many years ago. When he came to our clinic, he complained of severe pain around his elbow that he could not do ordinary activity. He had local tenderness in elbow and 30 degree limitation in extension. In radiography, lytic, multiloculated lesion existed in region of olecranon. After excisional biopsy was done, cavity was cleaned completely with curette and was filled with autogenous bone. At 10-year follow-up, the patient was completely asymptomatic. Control radiograph showed cavity filled completely by bone; there was no evidence of relapse

Recurrent hydatosis at the site of non-union humerus fracture

Hydatid disease is still endemic in several regions of the world and is caused by two species of tapeworms, Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus alveolaris. It primary involves liver and lung, and bone involvement is relatively rare [0.2-4%], where it is most commonly seen in the spine. The skeletal involvement is usually due to secondary extension such as hematogenous spread. The disease has usually a silent manifestation until a complication exists; so, many cases are diagnosed intraoperatively. Treatment of hydatid disease because of its bone involvement and spillage of fluid with subsequent contamination seeding is difficult, so it has a high mortality rate and many cases will recur. Therefore, we can prevent these occurrences if we treat hydatid disease completely and in the primary stage. Adjuvant medical treatment, if the diagnosis is known, prevents systemic spread and recurrence. Here, we present a primary recurrent hydatosis at the site of non-union humerus fracture. We have pointed out osseous hydatosis as one of the important differential diagnoses in destructive bone lesions and the necessity of its radical resection