Bilateral fibular stress fracture in young female basketball player

Abstract

This report is a unique case of three stress fractures in a 14-year-old active female basketball player and we emphasize the importance of triple-phase bone scanning in differential diagnosis of the stress fracture. According to radiographic examination and laboratory tests, which were normal, the stress fracture of the right fibula was strongly suspected while making the diagnosis. Despite the treatment applied, recurrence, and deterioration of the symptoms were presented. Repeated laboratory test results were again normal, but the presence of an abundant periosteal reaction on the plain radiographs was confusing, so osteomyelitis or Ewing sarcoma of the fibula was suspected. We decided to perform a three-phase bone scanning; its findings were critical for the judgment and we diagnosed three stress fractures involving both fibulae. Final confirmation of the diagnosis of the bilateral fibular stress fractures in our case, however, was done by computed tomography examination.