En bloc resection and bone graft: does it alter the natural history of monostotic expansile fibrous dysplasia in children?

Monostotic fibrous dysplasia at C7 treated with vertebroplasty: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Monostotic fibrous dysplasia (MFD) involving the spine is rare, and the treatment options are controversial. Surgery is needed when patients suffer from persistent pain, spinal cord compression/injury, and vertebral collapse/instability. Treatment methods include biopsy/observation, corpectomy with instrumented fusion, posterior fusion, vertebroplasty (VP), curettage and bone graft, and complete removal of the vertebra with a combined anterior and posterior fusion procedure.

Case presentation

The patient was a 56-year-old woman with a 2-year history of neck pain. No obvious abnormalities were detected on neurological or physical examination, and laboratory findings were all within normal limits. An imaging examination suggested a C7 vertebral bone tumor. The patient refused to continue conservative observation treatment and requested surgery. Open VP of the C7 vertebral body was carried out, and her postoperative neck pain was completely relieved. The postoperative pathological results supported the diagnosis of fibrous dysplasia, and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with MFD. At the 12-month follow-up visit, the patient reported no clinical symptoms, and no signs of tumor recurrence were detected.

Conclusion

VP can relieve pain while stabilizing the spine. Thus, the surgical treatment of MFD vertebral lesions by VP is a valuable option.

Fibrous dysplasia of bone: Surgical management options and outcomes of 22 cases

The surgical treatment for fibrous dysplasia (FD) of bone is problematic due to its variable clinical courses. And multifarious surgical treatment options have been reported while no consistent view can be reached. Therefore, we reviewed a series of 22 patients (11 males and 11 females; mean age 28.4 years, range 15-48 years) with FD between December 2011 and July 2015. Fourteen patients had monostotic fibrous dysplasia (MFD) and eight patients had polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (PFD) with nine lesions. All patients were followed up from 15 to 58 months with an average of 26.0 months. Functional and radiographic outcomes were recorded. In the MFD group, four patients were treated with curettage and bone grafting without internal fixation and nine were treated with curettage and bone grafting with internal fixations. Osteotomy and intramedullary (IM) nail was applied in one patient with serious deformity. In the PFD group, three deformity lesions were treated with osteotomy and proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA). IM were also applied in six large lesions to treat fracture or prevent deformity. One lesion in tibia were treated with only curettage and bone graft. No complication was observed in MFD group and satisfactory union and functional outcomes acquired during follow-up period. In the PFD group, the spiral blade cutting out from femoral head in PFNA was observed in one patient and treated with revision surgery. No other complication occurred, and satisfactory radiological and functional outcome were observed. The severity of both MFD and PFD are related to size, site and of the lesion. The goal of the surgery is to eliminate pain, correct deformity and treat pathological fracture. Curettage, bone grafting with internal fixation is recommended for treating large lesions with deformity or high pathological fracture risk. PFNA or IM nail is prior in osteotomy with better clinical outcome.

Functional and radiological outcomes of a minimally invasive surgical approach to monostotic fibrous dysplasia

Background

Reports showing high recurrence rates for intralesional curettage and bone grafting have made the current treatment principle for fibrous dysplasia controversial. This study aimed to report the postoperative clinical outcomes from three minimally invasive surgical strategies we use for monostotic fibrous dysplasia (MFD).

Patients and methods

Twelve patients with MFD presenting with no pathologic fracture or deformity and treated with one of three surgical strategies—plain open biopsy, plain alpha-tricalcium phosphate (ATP) reconstruction, and prophylactic bridge plating—were included. There were nine men and three women, with median age of 38 years. Mean follow-up was 88 weeks. Five cases involved the proximal femur, two each involved the femoral and tibial diaphyses, and one each involved the distal humerus, radial diaphysis, and proximal tibia. All cases were reviewed for functional and radiological outcomes.

Results

Median time to full activity was 1 day (range 1 to 3) for the plain open biopsy group, while the prophylactic bridge-plating and plain ATP reconstruction groups had longer median recovery times (59 days, range 3 to 143, and 52 days, range 11 to 192, respectively). Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scores at last follow-up were excellent for all the cases (mean 29.6, range 25 to 30). Radiological analysis using Gaski et al.’s criteria showed plain open biopsy resulted in partial resolution of proximal femoral lesions, while ATP reconstruction and prophylactic plating resulted in no change and progression in this lesion site, respectively. For femoral diaphyseal lesions, prophylactic plating resulted in partial resolution, while ATP reconstruction resulted in no change. In the tibial diaphysis, prophylactic plating resulted in partial resolution, while plain open biopsy resulted in no change. For the lesions involving the distal humerus and the proximal tibia, plain open biopsy resulted in partial resolution, while for the radial diaphyseal lesion, ATP reconstruction resulted in no change. Radiological progression was limited in 11 (92%) cases, and none had postoperative complications.

Conclusion

Plain open biopsies for asymptomatic lesions; prophylactic bridge plating for symptomatic, large diaphyseal lytic lesions; and plain ATP reconstructions for both small and large nondiaphyseal symptomatic lytic lesions may be acceptable alternatives to curettage-incorporating procedures for MFD.