Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of spinal osteoid osteoma under CT guidance.

Objective: Osteoid osteoma (OO) accounts for approximately 10-12% of all benign bone tumours and 3% of all bone tumours. Spinal involvement appears in 10-25% of all cases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CT-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation in the treatment of spinal OOs and report our experience.

Methods: 13 patients suffering from spinal OO and treated at the authors' institution using CT-guided RF ablation were retrospectively evaluated. The RF probe was introduced through a 11-G Jamshidi(®) needle, and the lesion was heated at 90°C for 6 min.

Results: All procedures were considered technically successful as the correct positioning of the probe was proven by CT. 11 of the 13 patients reported pain relief after RF ablation. In two cases, RF ablation was repeated 1 month after the first procedure. Pain relief was achieved in both cases after the second procedure. No recurrence was reported throughout the follow-up. No complications like skin burn, soft-tissue haematoma, infection, vessel damage or neurological deficit were reported.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that CT-guided percutaneous RF ablation is a safe and effective method for the treatment of spinal OOs.

Advances In Knowledge: The data of this study support the efficacy and safety of the recently applied CT-guided percutaneous RF ablation technique for the treatment of spinal OOs.