Outcomes of Surgery for Enchondromas within the Hand

Abstract

Background. Enchondromas are the most common benign bone tumours found in the hand. They are usually accidentally diagnosed on an X-ray, because they grow asymptomatically. In some cases, a pathological fracture of the involved phalanx may be the first sign. The objective of this study was to assess the results of operative treatment of enchondromas involving hand phalanges and metacarpals. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 24 patients, 16 women (67%) and 8 men, (33%), aged a mean of 31 years, who were operated on at our centre. The surgery consisted in curettage, and - in most cases - filling the bone defect with either a bone graft or a bone substitute. Follow-up assessment was performed over the telephone in 17 patients (79% of the group) at a mean of 2 years after surgery. Results. Half of the patients were asymptomatic and fully recovered functionally, whereas the other half complained of some not troublesome symptoms such as scar discomfort, limitation of finger movement or cold sensitivity. No differences were observed with regard to the material used for filling of the bone defect following curettage. Two cases of recurrence were noted after surgery: one in the bone substitute group and one in the bone graft group. Conclusions. 1. Enchondromas are the most common benign bone tumours encountered in bones of the hand. 2. The first line treatment in these lesions is curettage and filling of the bone defect with a bone sub­stitute or cancellous bone graft. 3. Both the results of the present study and literature data show that the approach to managing the tu­mour cavity after curettage has no significant effect on outcomes, which are essentially satisfactory.