Surgical management of giant multilevel aneurysmal bone cyst of cervical spine in a 10-year-old boy: case report with review of literature

Abstract

Background: Aneurysmal bone cysts are rare occurrences in the cervical spine. Surgical treatment in pediatric patients is a challenge. Complete tumor resection offers the best chance for cure.Description: Diagnosis and surgical management of an expansile aneurysmal bone cyst of the cervical spine involving all three spinal columns in a 10-year-old boy.Results: Surgical treatment included tumor excision and circumferential fusion, and produced no neurological or vascular sequelae. This approach minimizes the risk of recurrence and the possibility of postoperative spinal instability.Conclusion: Spinal instability is preferably addressed with reconstruction and stabilization. Cervical aneurismal bone cyst lesions are ideally treated with complete resection to minimize the chance of recurrence. In pediatric cases, defects created by resection should be corrected by fusion to minimize the risk of postoperative instability and growth abnormality.

Surgical management of a multilevel thoracolumbar aneurysmal bone cyst

“…The majority of ABCs affect paediatric individuals often in adolescence 1. ABCs of the spine, especially multilevel ABCs, are very rare with most affecting the thoracolumbar region and, rarely the cervical regions 2. ABCs while benign, are often locally aggressive, destructive and have a high rate of recurrence making them difficult to treat 3.…”

“…While surgery is the most common treatment, embolisation, radiation and incisional curettage are other treatment options 5. There have only been five cases published in the literature on multilevel ABCs2 6–9 (table 1). In four of the five cases, patients were paediatric or adolescents presenting with motor neuron deficiencies.…”

“…Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are rare benign primary bone tumours that most commonly occur in individuals under the age of 20 1. Approximately 12%–30% of ABCs occur in the spine, usually affecting a single vertebral level in the lumbar spine and, rarely, the cervical region 2. Despite being benign in nature, the destructive nature of ABC’s poses a risk to the stability of the spinal column.…”

Fibrohistiocytoma combined with an aneurysmal bone cyst at T7 in a 63-year-old woman

“…The risk of postlaminectomy kyphosis is high. As such, a fusion should be considered whenever a laminectomy is performed ( 8 , 9 ). Prompt detection and treatment with curettage, decompression and fusion produces a satisfactory result and prevents spinal cord injury ( 10 ).…”

Surgical Management of Giant Multilevel Aneurysmal Bone Cyst of Cervical Spine in a 10-Year-Old Child: Case Report with Review of Literature (Evid Based Spine Care J 2012;3(4):55-59)

“…In response to the excellent case report and summary on aneurysmal bone cysts by Gurjar et al1 in the November 2012 edition of EBSJ , we felt that some additional points should be brought to the attention of the readers. In the management of these difficult but benign lesions, many good points were raised by the authors, but minimally invasive sclerotherapy was omitted.…”