Results of giant cell tumor of bone treated with intralesional excision.

Treatment of giant cell tumor of bone ranges from intralesional curettage to en bloc resection. We think that intralesional treatment can be done with low recurrence and complication rates and that these patients have good functional results. The results for 40 patients treated by one surgeon with one technique for giant cell tumor of bone between 1985-1999 were reviewed. All patients were treated with intralesional excision of the tumor with adjunctive cautery, phenol, and methylmethacrylate. All patients had been followed up for a minimum of 2 years with the mean followup of 76 months (range, 26-178 months). In addition, recent functional evaluations were done on 23 patients at a mean followup of 90 months (range, 28-175 months). The local recurrence rate was 12.5%. The nononcologic complication rate was 7.5%. Using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional evaluation, 93% of the patients had excellent results. This long-term followup study on patients treated with intralesional excision and methacrylate showed a low recurrence rate similar to those cited in the literature. Additionally, the complication rate was low and the function results were excellent.