Aneurysmal bone cysts of the occipital bone

Two cases of aneurysmal bone cysts are reported. Each patient presented with a palpable mass in the occipital region and signs of compression of structures in the posterior fossa. One of the cases is unique, in that the aneurysmal bone cyst was associated with an epidural hematoma in the posterior fossa. The pertinent literature is reviewed.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine

Summary Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine are uncommon. In the English language literature, there have been less than one hundred reported cases. We present five examples, all of which arose in a vertebral body. One case is the first reported arising from the coccyx; one presented at the sixth thoracic vertebral body with complete paraplegia and two with extremely large abdominal masses and catastrophic bleeding during attempted open biopsy. All were resected by a one-stage anterior or combined anterior-posterior approach. Two cases were treated with preoperative irradiation because of profuse, life-threatening bleeding during biopsy, and 4 weeks later complete anterior excision was carried out without difficulty.

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Résumé Les kystes anévrysmaux du rachis ne sont pas fréquents. Il y en a moins de cent rapportés dans la littérature de langue anglaise. Nous en présentons ici 5 cas, tous localisés au niveau d'une vertèbre. L'un d'entre eux est le premier cas publié atteignant le coccyx, un autre était situé sur la sixième vertèbre dorsale entraînant une paraplégie complète et deux déterminaient une volumineuse tuméfaction abdominale qui entraîna, lors de la biopsie, une très abondante hémorragie. Tous furent réséqués en un temps par voie antérieure ou par voie combinée, antérieure et postérieure. Une irradiation pré-opératoire fut effectuée dans deux cas en raison du saignement profus, mettant la vie en danger, survenu durant la biopsie. Quatre semaines plus tard une excision complète par voie antérieure put être réalisée sans difficulté.

     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the pelvis

Summary Twenty-three cases of pelvic aneurysmal bone cysts treated at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli were rewieved after a mean follow-up of 7 years. Eighteen cysts involved the anterior arch, four extended into the iliac wing and the anterior arch, and one invaded the entire hemipelvis. The acetabulum was involved in 56.5% of the cases. Fourteen patients were treated with surgery (curettage 11; resection 3), and five with radiation therapy; two patients had both modalities; two additional patients refused any treatment after biopsy. The overall recurrence rate was 13% (one case after curettage, one after radiation therapy, and one after combined treatment). Significant complications affected the final functional result in four of seven patients who received radiation therapy, while only one minor complication was seen in the surgical group.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine

Purpose

Aneurysmal bone cyst is a benign, relatively uncommon lesion, representing 1.4 % of primary bone tumors. The vertebral column is involved in 3–30 % of cases. This report describes clinical characteristics and treatment results of 18 patients with aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine.

Methods

Between 1991 and 2008, 18 patients with aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine were surgically treated in our department. The clinical records, radiographs, histologic sections, and operative reports were analyzed.

Results

There were 11 male and 7 female patients; mean age was 22.1 years (range 7–46 years). Localizations were cervical (3), cervicothoracic (2), thoracic (3), lumbar (4), and sacrum (6). Tumor was localized on the left side in 11 cases, on the right side in 2 and at midline in 5 patients. The two most common clinical features were axial pain (14 patients) and radicular pain (8 patients). Neurological signs were paraparesis in 3, monoparesis in 6. Mean duration of symptoms was 9 months (range 3 months–3 years). All patients underwent surgery: total removal was performed in 13 patients and subtotal resection in 5. Posterior (11), anterolateral (1), or combined anterior-posterior (6) approaches were used. Mean follow-up duration was 112.3 months (range 4–21 years). We detected four recurrences in subtotal excision group (4/5), and one recurrence in total excision group (1/13).

Conclusion

Treatment options for aneurysmal bone cysts are simple curettage with or without bone grafting, complete excision, embolization, radiation therapy, or a combination of these modalities. Radical surgical excision should be the goal of surgery to decrease the recurrence rate. Recurrence rate is significantly lower in case of total excision.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine

The article reviews aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine and current diagnostic tests approaches and therapeutic interventions are discussed.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine

Thirteen patients with aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine (excluding sacral lesions) were retrospectively reviewed. Treatment for aneurysmal bone cysts remains controversial, but surgical resection, irradiation, and embolization are common treatment modalities for those involving the spine. Of 102 patients with aneurysmal bone cysts, 15 had a lesion of the spine, including 2 sacral cases. Of the 13 patients with a lesion of the thoracic or lumbar spine, 9 underwent resection of the lesion, 2 curettage and cementation, and 2 only currettage. Eleven patients underwent segmental arthrodesis with instrumentation after treatment of the primary or recurrent lesion, while 2 patients underwent segmental arthrodesis using autogeneic bone. Nine patients did not develop a local recurrence after resection of the lesion. However, the 2 patients who underwent curettage alone developed local recurrences. None of 4 patients developed recurrences after curettage and cementation. After recurrence, 1 patient underwent additional resection with irradiation, and 1 patient underwent resection alone. At the final follow-up, all lesions were under control. In one patient, lumbar kyphosis developed after segmental arthrodesis with instrumentation, and arthrodesis was performed again. Radical resection of aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine with instrumentation is the optimal method of acquiring a high degree of local control and preventing spinal deformity. Received: 30 April 1998     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the pelvis

Twenty-three cases of pelvic aneurysmal bone cysts treated at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli were reviewed after a mean follow-up of 7 years. Eighteen cysts involved the anterior arch, four extended into the iliac wing and the anterior arch, and one invaded the entire hemipelvis. The acetabulum was involved in 56.5% of the cases. Fourteen patients were treated with surgery (curettage 11; resection 3), and five with radiation therapy; two patients had both modalities; two additional patients refused any treatment after biopsy. The overall recurrence rate was 13% (one case after curettage, one after radiation therapy, and one after combined treatment). Significant complications affected the final functional result in four of seven patients who received radiation therapy, while only one minor complication was seen in the surgical group.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the dorsal spine

Summary Aneurysmal bone cyst is an uncommon but interesting condition, more so when it involves the vertebrae. Three cases of aneurysmal bone cysts of the dorsal spine, suspected on clinicoradiological findings and confirmed by histopathology, are reported in this paper. The authors believe that when the disease affects the pedicles or transverse processes of a vertebra, the plain roentgenographic findings are quite typical of the disease, and a confident radiological diagnosis is possible in the majority of cases.

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Zusammenfassung Die aneurysmatische Knochenzyste ist eine seltene, aber interessante Läsion, besonders wenn sie an der Wirbelsäule lokalisiert ist. Es werden 3 Fälle einer aneurysmatischen Knochenzyste an der Brustwirbelsäule beschrieben, die bereits aufgrund der klinisch radiologischen Befunde diagnostiziert werden konnten und dann histopathologisch bestätigt wurden. Die Autoren sind der Ansicht, daß beim Befall der Bögen oder Querfortsätze des Wirbels im normalen Röntgenbild ein typischer Befund für die Erkrankung besteht und in der Mehrzahl der Fälle eine zuverlässige röntgenologische Diagnose möglich ist.

     

Treatment of aneurysmal bone cysts of the pelvis and sacrum.

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal bone cysts are benign, non-neoplastic, highly vascular bone lesions. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence, the clinical presentation, and the recurrence rate of aneurysmal bone cysts of the pelvis and sacrum and to examine the diagnostic and therapeutic options and prognosis for patients with this condition. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the pelvis and/or sacrum were treated from 1921 to 1996. Their medical records and radiographic and imaging studies were reviewed, and histological sections from the cysts were examined. Seventeen lesions were iliosacral, sixteen were acetabular, and seven were ischiopubic. Seven involved the hip joint, and two involved the sacroiliac joint. All twelve sacral lesions extended to more than one sacral segment and were associated with neurological signs and symptoms. Destructive acetabular lesions were associated with pathological fracture in five patients and with medial migration of the femoral head, hip subluxation, and hip dislocation in one patient each. The mean duration of follow-up was thirteen years (range, three to fifty-three years). RESULTS: Thirty-five patients who were initially treated for a primary lesion had surgical treatment (twenty-one had excision-curettage and fourteen had intralesional excision); two patients also had adjuvant radiation therapy. Of the thirty-five patients, five (14%) had a local recurrence noted less than eighteen months after the operation. Of five patients initially treated for a recurrent lesion, one had a local recurrence. At the latest follow-up examination, all forty patients were disease-free and twenty-eight (70%) were asymptomatic. There were two deep infections. CONCLUSION: Aneurysmal bone cysts of the pelvis and sacrum are usually aggressive lesions associated with substantial bone destruction, pathological fractures, and local recurrence. Current management recommendations include preoperative selective arterial embolization, excision-curettage, and bone-grafting.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine. Report of 17 cases

Seventeen cases of aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine are reported. Clinical manifestations, methods of investigation, differential diagnosis, treatment, and pathogenesis are discussed. The condition is essentially a benign lesion, affects a young age group, and grows rapidly, often producing a paravertebral mass. Occasionally it becomes acutely exacerbated, causing irreversible damage to the spinal cord. For these reasons, prompt diagnosis and timely treatment are important. Excision of the lesion is the treatment of choice but, if not feasible, thorough curettage and radiotherapy not exceeding 2000 rads are indicated. With a two-stage operation, excision of the lesion is often possible, and the stability of the vertebral column is assured with bone-graft fusions.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts in the cranial vault and base of skull

Three cases of aneurysmal bone cyst of the skull are reported. The localization in the base of the skull (two cases) is extremely rare and simulates a space-occupying intracerebral lesion. The clinical and microscopic findings, and their significance for the differential diagnosis from malignant brain tumors, are described.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the patella secondary to chondroblastoma. Case reports

Three cases of aneurysmal bone cysts secondary to chondroblastoma of the patella are described. This association is not particularly uncommon, but its occurrence in the patella is unusual. Treatment consists of curettage and bone grafting; however, if the patella is grossly enlarged or distorted, patellectomy is preferable.     

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the skull: report of three cases.

We report three cases of aneurysmal bone cysts of the skull, a rare site for this type of lesion. The patients were 11, 15 and 44 years old, the duration of symptoms being 72, 24 and 6 months, respectively. The lesions were painful in two cases. Computed tomography in all three cases was suggestive of aneurysmal bone cysts. En bloc excision of the bone cysts demonstrated no dural involvement. There were neither mitotic figures nor any other associated pathology on histopathological examination. Two cases were recurrence free at follow-up of 8 months and 3 years, and the third patient was thought to be recurrence free at 2 years.