Giant osteochondroma of ilium: a case report and literature review

Osteochondroma is one of the most common benign bone tumors. It usually grows on the metaphysis of long bones and rarely develops in bones of scapula, feet, hands, and pelvis. The management of this disease is en-bloc excision of the tumor. We present a 45-year-old female subject, who complained of having found a mass on the right hip for more than 20 years which was diagnosed to be osteochondroma on X-ray, computed tomography (CT) and 3-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction. We performed en-bloc excision for the patient. Pathologic examination of surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma. The patient made a complete recovery and there has been no recurrence after one year of follow-up. Osteochondroma usually represents an osteo-cartilaginous aberrant overgrowth of normal epiphyseal growth plates. The disease has a slow onset and a long history. X-rays and CT scans are sufficient for diagnosis before surgery and the final diagnosis should based on pathology. Differential diagnosis includes chondrosarcoma or other neoplasms. When osteochondroma causes pain, compression of peripheral nerves, or continuous growth and other clinical symptoms, en-bloc excision of the tumor is needed. Better recognition and more comprehensive evaluation of these rare cases should be highlighted to avoid misdiagnosis during our clinical practice.