Treatment of bone defect with calcium phosphate cement subsequent to tumor curettage in pediatric patients

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mid- to long-term clinical performance of calcium phosphate cement (CPC) in the treatment of benign bone tumors in pediatric patients with a follow-up of at least 2-years. The cases of 33 patients with benign bone tumors treated by curettage and subsequent implantation of CPC were retrospectively reviewed. The patients consisted of 13 males and 20 females, with a median age of 13 years and median follow-up time of 79 months. All patients were alive at the time of review. No toxicity was detected in routine blood tests. Radiography was used to confirm that CPC was well adapted to the surrounding host bone, although the resorbability of CPC was not obtained for all patients at the final follow-up. Local tumor recurrence occurred in 4 patients. None of the patients reported post-operative fractures. In total, 6 patients required a second surgical procedure, as follows: 4 patients in whom local tumor recurrence occurred; 1 patient with post-operative superficial wound infection, who underwent wound debridement; and 1 patient that required the removal of CPC due to deep infection at the proximal humerus. All patients had regained full physical function without any pain at the final follow-up. The present study recommends that the properties of CPC should be taken into consideration and applied to the reconstruction of bone defects subsequent to curettage of bone tumors.