Chondroma
What is it?
Chondromas are very rare, slow-growing tumors that arise from the cartilaginous portions of bones. These benign tumors are composed of mature cartilage, which is the flexible, connective tissue that protects the ends of bones where they meet to form joints.
There are two types of chondromas, periosteal chondromas and soft tissue chondromas, according to where they are found on the bone.
Chondroma is equivalent to 5% of all bone tumors, and only 2% to 4% of all spinal tumors. Men are twice more likely to have a chondroma than women. The cervical spine is the dominant location of the occurrence of spinal chondroma. The cause of periosteal chondromas and soft tissue chondromas is unknown. There are no known risk factors for these noncancerous tumors.
Symptoms
As with other intraspinal tumors, chondromas may manifest with signs of compression of single or multiple nerve roots; low back pain associated with radicular pain is the most common clinical manifestation. Rarely, patients can experience bowel or bladder dysfunction. Also, spinal chondromas may manifest with a palpable mass.
Diagnosis
During a physical examination, the doctor will look for tenderness over the bone, swelling and a mass in the area of the symptoms. To accurately diagnose the type of chondroma, doctor will order x-rays, CT scans, MRIs or a biopsy.
Treatment
Chondromas can be surgically removed with an excision. These tumors rarely return after removal and no additional treatment is necessary. Most patients are treated with surgical resection of the tumor, performed through several techniques. Most common procedure is hemilaminectomy of one or several levels depending on the extension of the lesion, followed by removal of the tumor. During surgery, the tumor is usually soft and not adherent to the dura mater, so dissection and removal of the mass is usually not complicated.
After surgery, patients normally showed an important degree of improvement.