Radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteomas : Five years experience


Published online: Dec 27 2011

Zafiria G. Papathanassiou, Theodore Petsas, Dionysios Papachristou, Panagiotis Megas

From the University Hospital of Patras, Rio, Greece

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation as a curative treatment method for benign bone tumours. Twenty-nine osteoid osteomas were treated with radiofrequency ablation. Primary success rate was 89.6% and total secondary success rate was 93.1%. Mean clinical follow-up period was 26.7 months (range : 6-63 months). Statistical analysis of 25 cases of osteoid osteomas with CT follow-up revealed that post-treatment re-ossification does not correlate with clinical outcome (p = 0.14) but is strongly correlated with long-term (>≥ 12 months) CT follow-up (p = 0.014). Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation was found to be an effective and safe treatment for osteoid osteomas. CT findings cannot solely differentiate between treatment successes and failures.