[Chondromyxoid fibroma: an evaluation of 11 patients]

We evaluated surgical treatment of patients with chondromyxoid fibroma.

The study included 11 patients (6 females, 5 males; mean age 31 years; range 8 to 53 years) who underwent surgical treatment for chondromyxoid fibroma. The most common site of involvement was the tibia in three patients. Diagnosis was made preoperatively by tru-cut biopsies in seven patients and all the diagnoses were confirmed postoperatively by histopathologic examination. In addition to plain radiographs, computed tomography was used in 10 patients, and magnetic resonance was used in six patients. Surgery included wide resection, marginal excision or intralesional curettage followed by autologous bone graft or bone cement. The mean follow-up was 62.8 months (range 2 to 162 months).

The main presenting symptom was pain in all the patients. Two patients with thoracic wall and tibia involvement, respectively, complained of a mass. Radiologic imaging showed soft tissue involvement in two patients. Recurrence occurred in three patients (27.3%), in whom initial surgical procedures were curettage alone (n=2) or with iliac graft (n=1). One patient with involvement in the phalanx of the thumb presented with pain 46 months after the second operation. A tru-cut biopsy yielded a diagnosis of secondary chondrosarcoma for which ray amputation was performed. No wound site infections or functional loss developed after surgical treatment.

Chondromyxoid fibroma may develop in various bones of the body and occur at a wide age range. Curettage with autologous bone graft is an effective surgical method.