What is a chondroma? This is a benign tumor that consists of mature cartilage structures and is located in the cortical layer of the bone. The tumor accounts for only 0.66% of all skeletal neoplasms and occurs in patients of different age groups.
Causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of chondroma, in the ICD - 10 which is listed under the code D16, you will find out after reading the article.
Chondroma Causes
At the moment, doctors can not find the exact cause of chondroma. But it was possible to identify several factors that directly affect the development of this tumor:
- Age (most often between 10-30 years old, peaking at 11-16 years old).
- Inflammatory processes in the body.
- Spine damage by viruses.
- Bad environment.
- Prolonged exposure to external factors such as gasoline, radiation, gases, etc.
- The pernicious activity of the person himself onbody (smoking, alcoholism, lack of sleep, lack of physical activity, unbalanced diet).
- Various injuries and fractures.
- Violation of ossification processes (diagnosed in the growth zone).
Symptoms
Symptoms of periosteal chondroma in a child and an adult correspond to the symptoms of enchondroma. The difference in the increase in a large neoplasm is a visually and tactilely perceptible pronounced tumor in the area of the affected limb segment. Typical localization is the diaphysis and metadiaphysis of long tubular bones. Differential diagnosis is carried out with defective metaphyseal fibrosis and primary chronic osteomyelitis.
Key Features
Main symptoms:
- headache;
- dizziness;
- joint pain;
- discoordination;
- difficulty breathing through the nose;
- appearance of a tumor formation;
- blurred vision;
- pain in the affected area;
- pathological fractures;
- painful thickening;
- swelling from injection.
The disease is usually mild and without pronounced symptoms. But many doctors believe that the appearance of such formations is potentially dangerous, because even while still in the form of a benign tumor, the neoplasm can turn into a malignant one at any time.
Chondroma often affects bones (thoracic region, collarbone, digital bone, etc.), but can also develop in soft tissues and cartilage (for example, inlarynx). In adults, the most common formations consisting of a chondromic tube in the bones of the hands, less often on the sternum, thigh and knee. Damaged bony parts tend to deform. If the chondroma is located on long tubular bones, especially in the knee joint, then there is a high risk of a sudden pathological fracture.
The treatment of peristatic chondromas is marginal resection. With a large tumor size, resection is supplemented by bone defect plasty.
Types of chondroma
Clinicians use a classification based on tumor location. There are 2 types of chondromas:
- Enchondroma. The formation of this kind of tumor occurs in those areas where there is normally no cartilage tissue. It happens more in the parotid gland, ovaries, brain, lungs and others. The neoplasm can also be localized in small bones of the limbs or tubular bones.
- Eckondroma. In this case, the neoplasm is formed from a full-fledged cartilage of small sizes. Most often, the cavities of the joints, vertebrae, ears, cartilage of the ribs and more are affected.
Classification
Classification by the nature of the flow:
- Benign. What is benign chondroma? Such a neoplasm increases at a slow pace and does not cause concern to the patient. It should be emphasized that it is able to increase throughout his life, while not degenerating into malignant forms.
- Malignant. What is chondroma malignant? This kindtumors are formed to a greater extent in the proximal parts of the femur, as well as the humerus. Chondroma of the rib, sternum and pelvis is most exposed to malignant degeneration.
During the examination, the doctor will determine the nature of the neoplasm. After you have learned what a chondroma is, it is advised to study its types in more detail.
Chest
Thoracic lesions more often affect the ribs, and the neoplasm is formed on the verge of the cartilaginous and bone lobe of the bone. The main indicator is a cosmetic flaw, especially found in subjects of a slender physique. With an increase in the volume of the chondroma, the rib shows a tendency to grow into the periosteum from the inner edge of the rib and even the pleura, which is accompanied by quite severe pain.
Clavicle
Chondroma of the clavicle accounts for only 15% of tumors of the bone frame of the chest, but it is very dangerous with the prospect of an increase in the direction of the internal organs and compression of large vessels, nerves, lung or heart. Signs may include shortness of breath, palpitations, symptoms of abnormal blood flow in the head.
Skull
Chondroma of the bone-cartilaginous basis of the nose can provoke a violation of nasal breathing, pain, deformity, and damage to the throat - difficulties with voice and asphyxia. The manifestations of chondromas growing in the bones of the skull depend on the nerve or branch of the brain that is being compressed.
Probable features include:
- Pain in the head and feelingweaknesses.
- Motor disorders.
- Change in movement coordination.
- Visual pathology due to compression of the optic nerves or their decussation.
Ear
A cartilaginous tumor of the ear with an increase in the auricle brings mainly a cosmetic defect, and localized in the middle or inner ear, it can cause hearing pathology and pain. After the disease is eliminated, relapses often occur.
Other localizations
In addition to small bones, joints of the hands and feet, damage to large bone joints, in particular the knee joint, is also permissible. A tumor of this localization often appears in athletes whose knee experiences significant overloads and frequent injuries that initiate the reproduction of cartilage cells. Chondroma of the knee joint is accompanied by pain and limitation of physical activity of the limb. Synovitis is likely, in which the pain becomes stronger, swelling of the entire joint occurs.
Diseases of the internal organs are considered the result of pathologies of intrauterine development, if the islands of cartilaginous embryonic matter remain where it should not be in an adult. Thus, the chondroma of the lung is a kind of malformation, is asymptomatic and is often detected by chance. In addition to the lung, similar tumors can appear in the ovaries, salivary glands, and including the brain.
Chondroma diagnosis
Identification of a cartilage neoplasm at the initial stagesan orthopedic traumatologist. Based on the patient's complaints, external examination and palpation, an X-ray examination is prescribed. In the lumen of the patient card, foggy white spots are clearly visible, which cannot be anatomical features of the structure or a simple malfunction of the device.
After the doctor makes a presumptive diagnosis (chondroma in the district clinic cannot be established at 100%, the final examination and the final option is determined only by the oncologist), the patient is invited to take a general and special blood test for antibodies, which show the presence or absence of a tumor process. If the antibody markers are positive, a referral for a full medical examination to the oncology center is issued.
Upon arrival at the oncology center, the doctor first issues a referral for general tests to determine the state of the body at the time of admission. Next, a re-examination of the affected area and a biopsy of cartilage tissue is performed. This is necessary in order to confirm the benign course of the disease. As soon as the biopsy result confirms the presence of chondroma, complex treatment is prescribed using resection (mechanical removal of the tumor) and maintenance drug therapy.
In the postoperative period, the oncologist makes the last screening study to finally confirm the positive outcome of the surgical intervention. To do this, radiography, blood sampling, transillumination on a thermal imager is carried out - a special device that shows the affectedareas in the form of a bright yellow light, as blood is actively rushing to them.
Chondroma treatment
Chondroma is a benign neoplasm that grows from mature cartilage tissue in various parts of the human body. It is not dangerous, but must be removed immediately, since there is a risk of blocking the main vessels with further degeneration of the chondroma into a malignant oncosegment. Chondroma should be treated as soon as possible. Even though this neoplasm is benign, it tends to grow rapidly, metastasize, attach and overlap the great vessels. The longer the patient does not turn to a specialist oncologist, the more processes appear in the chondroma, which creates an almost guaranteed relapsing course.
Chondroma treatment is carried out in city clinical centers for cancer patients. There are all the necessary drugs and medical equipment for the diagnosis and removal of the tumor. Children whose immunity is more susceptible to changes caused by various failures are more likely to suffer from tumor processes of a benign and malignant nature.
At the present stage of development of medicine, the following methods of tumor removal are used:
- Radical therapy. Surgical removal of cartilage, bone, followed by prosthetics. It is advisable to apply this technique in case of a mild systemic lesion, when the hands, joints, larynx, sternum, phalanges of the fingers are involved. Cranial chondromas require periodic replacementprosthesis, since the shape of the head can change (especially in children) and there is a risk of complications due to the use of an artificial object: non-survival, improper overgrowth. Full recovery period after resection is 7-10 days.
- Radiation therapy. It is used only in cases where mechanical removal of the chondroma is not possible. This applies to rare cases of damage to blood vessels, cranial nerves - cerebral neurochondroma. In addition, RT has many side effects and contraindications, which also forces the medical staff of the hospital to choose more gentle methods of dealing with the problem.
- Chemical therapy. Rarely used technique. It is prescribed after removal of the tumor in order to completely eliminate pathological agents from cartilage tissue - metastasis. It can also be prescribed for the purpose of comprehensive recovery, if the disease progressed rapidly and affected the work of vital organs and body systems. In addition, CT allows you to get rid of the remnants of the neoplasm, which cannot be removed in an operable way.
- Radio wave cleaning. The use of radio waves to break up tumor processes is a common technique that is used immediately after tumor resection. Cleaning allows you to remove the micro-branches of the chondroma, which can grow again, leading to a relapse of the disease and their degeneration into a malignant oncological process.
- Maintenance drug therapy. To restore the mobility of the bone and cartilage tissue, chondroprotectors are prescribed. These medicinaldrugs allow you to restore metabolic processes inside the affected area, to resume the natural growth of cartilage. In addition, depending on the symptoms, analgesics, antispasmodic ointments, calcium, potassium and iron preparations can be used. They help speed up the rehabilitation process, relieve swelling and normalize the general condition of the patient. In addition, any radical process is associated with the loss of blood and many useful substances.
