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Argon Beam Coagulation as Adjuvant Treatment after Curettage of Aneurysmal Bone Cysts: A Preliminary Study

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Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

The optimal treatment of aneurysmal bone cysts remains an area of debate. Curettage, with or without adjuvant therapy, has been advocated for tumors in most locations. To evaluate argon beam coagulation as adjuvant therapy to curettage, we retrospectively analyzed the complication and recurrence rates in 40 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst. For our analysis of recurrence, we excluded six of the 40 patients who were lost to followup or had less than 18 months followup; five patients treated with resection also were excluded. Of the remaining 29 patients, 17 were treated with curettage and argon beam coagulation and 12 were treated with curettage with or without phenol. None of the 17 patients treated with curettage and argon beam coagulation had a recurrence, whereas four patients treated without argon beam coagulation had recurrences. There were no differences between patients treated with or without argon beam coagulation regarding frequencies of intraoperative complications, neurovascular injury, or bone graft incorporation. Argon beam coagulation seems to offer favorable control rates when compared with curettage with or without phenol. No complications have been experienced thus far with its use.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic, 1211 Union Avenue, Suite 510, Memphis, TN, 38104, USA

    Judd E. Cummings MD, Richard A. Smith PhD & Robert K. Heck Jr. MD

  2. InMotion Musculoskeletal Institute, Memphis, TN, USA

    Robert K. Heck Jr. MD

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  1. Judd E. Cummings MD
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  2. Richard A. Smith PhD
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  3. Robert K. Heck Jr. MD
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Correspondence to Robert K. Heck Jr. MD.

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Each author certifies that he has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patient/licensing arrangements, etc) that pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his institution has approved the human protocol for this investigation and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

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Cummings, J.E., Smith, R.A. & Heck, R.K. Argon Beam Coagulation as Adjuvant Treatment after Curettage of Aneurysmal Bone Cysts: A Preliminary Study . Clin Orthop Relat Res 468, 231–237 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0914-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0914-7

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