PURPOSE: To review records of 14 patients with aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) of the spine. METHODS: Using the Scottish Bone Tumour Registry for the period of October 1952 to November 2005, records of 9 females and 5 males aged 8 to 63 (mean, 25.3) years who had ABCs of the spine and were followed up for a mean of 7.1 years were reviewed. RESULTS: The most commonly involved site was the lumbar vertebrae (n=6), followed by the thoracic (n=4), cervical (n=3), and sacral (n=1) vertebrae. The mean duration of symptoms at presentation was 8.8 (range, 0.3-24) months. The symptoms included gradually increasing pain in the back (n=14), a palpable spinal mass (n=4), spinal deformity (n=2), and neurological deficits (n=5). All the patients underwent surgery: intra-lesional excision (curettage) without bone grafting (n=3), excision (n=7, 2 of whom had adjuvant radiotherapy), and open excisional biopsy (n=4, 2 of whom had iliac crest bone grafting). One patient with a cervical ABC underwent preoperative angiographic embolisation. Another patient with a sacral ABC underwent percutaneous sclerotherapy. Two patients had recurrence. One had recurrence within 4 months and underwent adjuvant radiotherapy; another had recurrence 16.8 years later and underwent repeat curettage. No major complications were encountered. CONCLUSION: Most ABCs of the spine occurred in young females. Intra-lesional excision was an effective treatment.
PURPOSE: To review records of 14 patients with aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) of the spine. METHODS: Using the Scottish Bone Tumour Registry for the period of October 1952 to November 2005, records of 9 females and 5 males aged 8 to 63 (mean, 25.3) years who had ABCs of the spine and were followed up for a mean of 7.1 years were reviewed. RESULTS: The most commonly involved site was the lumbar vertebrae (n=6), followed by the thoracic (n=4), cervical (n=3), and sacral (n=1) vertebrae. The mean duration of symptoms at presentation was 8.8 (range, 0.3-24) months. The symptoms included gradually increasing pain in the back (n=14), a palpable spinal mass (n=4), spinal deformity (n=2), and neurological deficits (n=5). All the patients underwent surgery: intra-lesional excision (curettage) without bone grafting (n=3), excision (n=7, 2 of whom had adjuvant radiotherapy), and open excisional biopsy (n=4, 2 of whom had iliac crest bone grafting). One patient with a cervical ABC underwent preoperative angiographic embolisation. Another patient with a sacral ABC underwent percutaneous sclerotherapy. Two patients had recurrence. One had recurrence within 4 months and underwent adjuvant radiotherapy; another had recurrence 16.8 years later and underwent repeat curettage. No major complications were encountered. CONCLUSION: Most ABCs of the spine occurred in young females. Intra-lesional excision was an effective treatment.
Authors: Stefano Boriani; Sheng-fu L Lo; Varun Puvanesarajah; Charles G Fisher; Peter P Varga; Laurence D Rhines; Niccole M Germscheid; Alessandro Luzzati; Dean Chou; Jeremy J Reynolds; Richard P Williams; Patti Zadnik; Mari Groves; Daniel M Sciubba; Chetan Bettegowda; Ziya L Gokaslan Journal: J Neurooncol Date: 2014-07-25 Impact factor: 4.130