All About Bone Tumours

(Medical Student Education Series:Core Orthopaedics)

All About Bone s:Core Ort

All About Bone Tumours Copyright 2008 eugene[si copyright 2008

Bone Tumours can be very serious requiring amputation of

High grade osteosarcoma of arm amputated.

Over view You need to be able to recognize a bone tumour but unlikely to be called to treat one. It is said that an orthopaedic surgeon sees one malignant bone tunour per career.

Classification of Bone(and soft tissue) Tumours

Primary(benign or malignant) or Metastatic. Benign=don’t kill you

Presentation,Work-up and Treatment • Incidental pick- up on XR. • Pain following minor injury • Presents as a fracture • Exam: Mass(painless) or Fx. • XRs very useful,bone scan, CT, MRI. • Lab studies not so useful • Biopsy is key to diagnosis. Do carefully • STAGE • Treatment: -Benign-Treat Fx or excise; -Malignant-get rid of malignant mass with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Know that: Primary Bone tumours are rare; but metatases from