[Andean children with aneurysmal bone cyst treated with polidocanol (use off-label)]

The aneurysmal bone cyst is a rare benign but aggressive osteolytic tumor for which there is still no ideal treatment, the reports on treatment by sclerotherapy in the pediatric population are scarce and in our region even less. The objective is to communicate the experience of the treatment of aneurysmal bone cyst with polydocanol 3%.

Retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Period: June/2017 to June/2021. Inclusion: patients with histological diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst; Under general anesthesia and fluoroscopic guidance, intralesional puncture with 16G needle was performed through which 3% polydocanol was slowly administered. Data: medical history. Quantitative variables shall be expressed in measures of central tendency and dispersion; qualitative variables shall be expressed as frequencies or percentages.

Nine consecutive patients were included, all of whom had pain and tumor in one of the extremities. Gender: 3 female and 6 male. Age: median 10.5 years (range: 2-15.1). Weight: median 32.8 kg (range: 11-44.5). Total procedures: 44; procedures per patient: mean 4.9 (SD: ± 2.0). Procedure time: mean 33.9 minutes (SD: ± 18.3); radiation: mean 1.34 mGy (SD: ± 1.55). Hospitalization: one day, except one patient. Complications: skin damage in one case, no recurrences follow-up: 12 to 50 months.

In this pediatric series, polydocanol 3% was useful and effective for the treatment of aneurysmal bone cyst, with few complications. One disadvantage is that it requires several sessions and in addition, no significant difference has been demonstrated between other forms of treatment in terms of the recurrence rate.