Florid-reactive periostitis of the phalanges: a 2-case report

Florid-reactive periostitis, also known as fibroosseous pseudotumor, is a benign bone lesion. It occurs rarely among pediatric patients. Usually, it affects the phalanges of the hands and feet, where most lesions concern the proximal phalanx. Girls are more commonly affected than boys. The lesion appears benign radiographically but on histologic examination could be mistaken for a variety of malignant lesions, especially osteosarcoma. Therefore, histologic evaluation is a must for distinguishing this benign lesion from malignant and infectious etiologies. We present 2 patients with florid periactive periostitis of the phalanges who were treated in our clinic. After physical and microscopy examination of the soft and bone tissues, we found no evidence of malignant process. Because of a definitive diagnosis and the benign nature of the histologic findings, a conservative treatment, that is, no surgical intervention, with a close supervision of our patients was used. During follow-up observations in both patients, we did not notice any limitations of finger movements or an enlargement of the tumor. These findings confirmed that for cases with no aggressive growth, a conservative treatment may be effective and beneficial for a patient.