Mid-term results of treatment with curettage and grafting in tumor-like cysts of long bones

Abstract

Aim: Curettage and bone grafting are common methods in the treatment of tumor-like cysts in the bone. In this study, we present our treatment results of curettage and bone grafting in patients with tumor-like bone cysts. Material and Methods: Ninety-three patients (57 males, 36 females, mean age: 33 years; range: 3 to 67 years) who were diagnosed with the tumor-like bone cysts in our clinic between march 2009 and December 2016, were evaluated. Curettage and bone grafting treatment were applied to all patients. The efficacy of the treatments was evaluated according to the Neer/Cole classification, and recurrence rates were recorded. Results: Of the treated 93 patients, 35 had a non-ossifying fibroma (NOF), 22 had an aneurysmal bone cyst(ABC), 21 had a unicameral bone cyst(UBC), and 15 had fibrous dysplasia(FD). Thirty-nine of these cysts were located in the femur,23 in the tibia, 22 in the humerus, six in the fibula, and three in the radius. Recurrence rates were observed as 14.3% (n=3) in UBCs, 13.6% (n=3) in ABCs, and 2.9% (n=1) in NOFs.In the tumor-like bone cysts, post-treatment complications were as follows: infection in five patients (5.3%), wound site problems in 11 patients (11.8%), deformity, fracture, coxa vara, limitation of the range of motion, and lower extremity shortness in nine patients (9.6%). Conclusion: These study results show that curettage and bone grafting for the patients who are admitted to the hospital with tumorlike lesions are effective and useful treatment modalities in the orthopedic oncology.