Curettage of benign bone tumors without grafts gives sufficient bone strength

Background and purpose The defect that results after curettage of a bone tumor is usually filled in the same way. We report the outcome in patients with benign bone tumors that were treated with curettage but no filling. Patients and methods We retrospectively studied 78 patients (mean age at the time of operation was 27 (6-73) years, 44 men) who had had a benign bone tumor curetted with no filling of the defect. The commonest tumor types were giant cell tumor of bone (27), fibrous dysplasia (13), enchondroma (9), and simple bone cyst (7). The mean size of the lesions was 35 (2-196) cm3. Normal activities, including full weight bearing for lower extremity lesions, were allowed after 3 months or less. The patients were followed for an average of 10 (1.2-21) years. Results A postoperative fracture with a minor displacement occurred in 3 patients, in 2 of them because of local recurrence. All fractures healed. Local recurrence occurred in 9 patients; 7 of them had a giant cell tumor. Repeated local recurrences necessitated above-knee amputation in 1 patient. All other patients had unrestricted activities of daily living. Interpretation Routine filling of curetted bone lesions does not appear to be necessary from a mechanical point of view.