Chondroblastoma of the Lower Thoracic Spine. A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Walid Osman¹, Afif Zaoui², Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim^3, , Riadh Ben Hamida¹ and Mohamed Ben Ayèche¹

¹Department of orthopaedics, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia

²Department of physiatrics, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia

³Department of Pathology, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia

Cite this paper:
Walid Osman, Afif Zaoui, Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim, Riadh Ben Hamida and Mohamed Ben Ayèche. Chondroblastoma of the Lower Thoracic Spine. A Case Report and Review of the Literature. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2014; 2(4):78-81. doi: 10.12691/ajmcr-2-4-2

Abstract

Background: Chondroblastoma of the spine is a very rare condition. To the best of our knowledge, fewer than 30 cases have been reported in the world literature. Material and methods: The authors describe here a rare spinal localization with an uncommon evolution and make a review of the cases of spinal chondroblastoma reported in the literature. Results: We report the case of a patient with chronic back pain and progressive weakness of both lower limbs. Computed tomography scan showed a mass infiltrating the twelfth thoracic vertebra and adjacent structures. The patient underwent surgery and subtotal removal was achieved while a posterior stabilization was performed. Pathological examination revealed a chondroblastoma. During follow-up, MRI examination revealed that the tumor had locally relapsed; nevertheless, the patient was asymptomatic for 13 years after operation. Conclusion: Spinal chondroblastoma has an aggressive behavior with high recurrence and mortality rates.

Keywords:
chondroblastoma spine origin diagnosis histology outcome

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