Craniofacial osteoma: clinical presentation and patterns of growth

This study was designed to investigate the clinical features and the growth rate of craniofacial osteomas.

Retrospective chart review was performed of 200 cases of craniofacial osteomas diagnosed from January 2001 to September 2011. Data pertinent to patient and osteoma lesion characteristics were collected. Histology of operated cases was reviewed. Computer tomography (CT) charts were reviewed and those with multiple images were analyzed for growth characteristics.

One hundred forty-nine patients met our inclusion criteria. Eighty-nine percent of these osteomas were found incidentally. Forty-three percent were in the frontal sinus. Fifteen percent of the patients complained of headaches and only 6.71% of patients with osteoma had headaches congruent with osteoma location. Thirty-one percent of CT scans had sinus mucosal disease; only 8% had mucosal disease adjacent to the osteoma. Ten of the 149 patients underwent surgery for cosmetic and/or rapidly growing osteomas. Thirteen patients had intestinal tubular adenoma, and one was genetically positive for Gardner's syndrome. Fifty-two patients had multiple CT scans that were included in growth rate analysis. The mean linear growth rate of osteomas was estimated to be 0.117 mm/yr (95% CI, 0.004, 0.230) in maximal dimension, assuming linear growth. A descriptive analysis of osteoma growth divided the osteomas into several intervals and studied the growth rate separately in each interval. The median change in maximum dimension was different in each interval in a nonsystematic manner, ranging from -0.066 mm, over 3- to 9-month interval (interquartile range [IQR] = -0.404-1.069), to 0.369 mm over 9- to 15-month interval (IQR = -0.032-0.855), and 0.082 mm over 45- to 51-month interval (IQR = -0.000-0.197). There was no significant association between tumor size, location, or complications.

Craniofacial osteomas are slow-growing lesions with no specific growth pattern and rare complications. Their clinical behavior is ill defined and justifies a conservative approach toward asymptomatic lesions with close radiological follow-up.