Abstract
Twenty-five years prior to presentation a 41-year-old man had a femoral fracture stabilized with a 4.5 mm AO/ASIF steel plate. The femur healed uneventfully and the patient was asymptomatic for the following 20 years. He then noticed a slow-growing swelling of the left thigh associated with a degree of weakness. Radiographs of the femur 25 years after fracture stabilization showed a massive expansive osteolytic process surrounded by a rim of bone. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed the presence of a large tumor. Since malignancy could not be excluded the patient underwent incisional biopsy. The histologic findings were nonspecific. Because of persistent symptoms the lesion was marginally excised. Intraoperatively a folded cotton sponge was found adjacent to the femur. Histopathologic investigation confirmed a foreign body reaction probably related to the retained cotton sponge. Reactive, foreign-body-induced change may mimic bone and or soft tissue malignancies.
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Received: 25 October 2000 Revision requested: 20 November 2000 Revision received: 19 February 2001 Accepted: 20 February 2001
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Kalbermatten, D., Kalbermatten, N. & Hertel, R. Cotton-induced pseudotumor of the femur. Skeletal Radiol 30, 415–417 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002560100358
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002560100358