Conservative surgery for osteoid osteoma of the lumbar vertebrae.

Background: We present two patients with osteoid osteomas of the lumbar spine to highlight the delay in diagnosis and the utility of precise radiological localization enabling tumor resection without jeopardizing spinal stability.

Case Description: Two young patients with refractory back pain presented after having undergone a year of conservative treatment for presumed mechanical back pain. The presence of "red-flag" symptoms (e.