Thursday, October 28, 2010

Osteochondroma(Exostosis or Benign Bone tumor)

Osteochondroma is a developmental abnormality where a part of the growth plate forms an outgrowth on the surface of the bone.

2 types of osteochondroma

Solitary-this is the most common tumor which accounts to 35% of all the benign tumors. This grows with a child or adolescent and usually stops at maturity. This is usually diagnosed in patients age 10 to 30 years old, it occurs equally in males and females. We do not know the cause of this and there is no way to prevent this from occurring in some patients.

Multiple Osteochondromatosis-this are multiple osteochondroma(more than 2) which is familial (it usually runs in families). It is 70% inherited and only 30% that occurs randomly. It usually occurs within the first three decades of life. Males are more often affected than females.

Symptoms
This can be affected depending where the lesions are located. A patient may have deformities of the forearms and a short stature. This is caused by abnormal growth from the growth plates.

Symptoms and signs of a tumor becoming cancerous
  • Growth of osteochondroma after puberty
  • Pain at the sight of an osteochondroma
  • A cartilage cap larger than two centimeters

Diagnosis:

x-ray of the affected long bone

if cancer is suspected MRI and CT Scan is indicated.

Treatment:

Nonsurgical treatment-tumors with no signs of cancer and are asymptomatic are just watched carefully

Surgical Treatment-if the tumor causes pain and deformity the portion of the bone need to be removed

This is usually monitored by the Orthopedic surgeon.

American Academy of Osteopathic Surgeons

3 comments:

Atlanta Plastic Surgeon said...

Thanks for discussing this illness.never heard about it.What are the surgical remedies for the same?

Anonymous said...

My 10 yr old son and m 3 yr old grandson have multiple osteochrondroma. My son has had 4 surguries and grandson has had 2. The doctors around here did not no what it is. Where can I take my son and grandson to get help where someone knows about what they have?

Anonymous said...

I have a 2 to 3 inch (diameter) osteochondroma on my femur medial to my knee. (left leg) Recently I have been expieriencing pain. It feels similar to when you need to crack your elbow by extending it. The pain is brought on by attempting to raise my left heel and touch it to my right knee. If i move slowly, i can get about 2/3 the way there then I lose strength and feel pain. If I move faster, I can touch my heel to my knee but I feel a sharp pain midway and when I move back. It feels very similar to cracking your elbow. I also feel a similar pain when i attempt to make my femur parallel to the ground while keeping my lower leg perpendicular to the ground. Some everyday activities that cause pain are walking long distances, walking up or down stairs or an incline, getting in and out of a car and changing clothes. Will the pain subside eventually? Getting the tumor removed is my last option because I am currently working and I am going to college in the fall.