Results of curettage and high-speed burring for chondroblastoma of the bone

Abstract

Background: Chondroblastomas of the bone are rare lesions. Most of these lesions can be successfully treated by curettage and bone grafting. However, a considerable rate of recurrence has been reported, especially in aggressive lesions. The purpose of this study was to report the results of 10 cases of chondroblastomas of the bone treated with curettage and high-speed burring.

Methods: Ten patients with histologically confirmed chondroblastoma of the bone were treated with curettage and high-speed burring between October 1991 and August 2000. There were 7 men and 3 women with an average age of 18.9 (range, 12 to 30) years. Radiographically, 3 were classified as having aggressive lesions, and 7 were classified as having non-aggressive ones. For treatment, 8 of them had defects packed with either bone grafts or bone substitutes; 1 defect was packed with bone cement; and the other was left alone because the lesion was small.

Results: At an average follow-up period of 62 (range, 8 to 112) months, all patients had painless, normal function of the affected limb without local recurrence or distant metastasis. Complete healing of the lesion was seen in 8 patients including the one without a bone graft. The lesion in 1 patient who had received bone cement remained unchanged radiographically. One patient experienced incomplete healing of the lesion, which was caused by inadequate packing of the bone substitute.

Conclusion: Curettage and high-speed burring represent an effective method for the treatment of chondroblastoma of the bone whether in the non-aggressive or aggressive stage.