Cytodiagnosis of Ollier's disease: a case report

Ollier's disease is a rare nonhereditary condition where patients present with multiple enchondromas involving usually the small bones of the hands and feet. We report the case of a 17-year-old girl who presented with multiple osteolytic lesions involving almost all phalanges of both her hands. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was performed from her left index finger. Smears showed mostly chondroid matrix with singly scattered cells showing binucleation and mild atypia at places. A diagnosis of enchondroma was offered in view of the cytologic and radiological findings. The dysplastic cartilage in Ollier's disease may show features similar to well differentiated chondrosarcoma. It is important not to overdiagnose such cases with atypia as low grade chondrosarcomas. Radiological appearances must be taken into account. FNAC is helpful as an outpatient diagnostic procedure when it obviates surgical intervention as most lesions tend to regress as the skeleton matures.