[Osteochondromas of the spine. A diagnosis to consider in spinal cord compression syndromes]

The authors reviewed 312 cases of solitary and multiple osteochondromas seen in SARAH Hospital for the Locomotor System during a period of 13 years-from 1982 to 1994. They selected six cases of patients with osteochondromas of the spine, corresponding to 1.92% of the total number of diagnosed cases of this entity. The selected cases were submitted to roentgenographic examination that comprised plain roentgenograms, myelography, computerized tomography and, in one of them, magnetic resonance imaging. They were submitted to decompressive surgical procedures (including laminectomy) with exeresis of the lesions and posterior histopathological examination which confirmed the initial diagnostic hypothesis. This study also includes a review of the possible mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease.