Evaluation of Functional and Oncological Outcome of the Treatment of Chondroblastoma in Distal Femur and Proximal Tibia

Background: Chondroblastoma represents a rare, benign, locally aggressive bone neoplasm occurring within the apophysis or epiphysis of long bones, mostly affecting young individuals. While some cases are managed with extensive resections, vigorous curettage and bone grafting are more often utilized for joint preservation. This work was aimed at assessing the functional and oncological outcome of chondroblastoma treatment around the knee.Patients and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional retrospective study including 20 cases, ages between 12 and 25 years old, with chondroblastoma in the distal femur and proximal tibia of benign grades, who had not been operated on before. Extended intralesional curettage was carried out on all patients with a high-speed burr under fluoroscopy and bone cement application.Results: There was a significant increase in Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score preoperative compared to postoperative 20.4 versus 28.15, respectively (P<0.05). No postoperative physeal growth damage. The radiological outcome showed consolidation in 95% of cases, and 5% had recurrence. Regarding the recurrence, recurrence was observed in 5%, which occurred after 10 months of primary treatment, who underwent a second curettage and bone cement filling without recurrence. No metastasis was found among the included cases.Conclusions: The surgical treatment of chondroblastoma around the knee joint with extended curettage, utilizing high-speed burr, as well as bone cementation as an adjuvant, improves the functional outcome of the patients while reducing the chondroblastoma recurrence rate.