Comparison of three treatment methods for simple bone cyst in children

BACKGROUND: The unicameral bone cyst (UBC) is a kind of benign tumor whose clinical treatments and efficacy are controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the elastic stable intramedullary nail (ESIN), the injection of autologous bone marrow (ABM), and the combination of ESIN and ABM in the treatment of bone cyst in children. METHODS: Eighty-three cases with simple bone cyst were analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-eight cases were treated with ABM. Twenty-eight cases were treated with ESIN. Twenty-seven cases were treated with ABM and ESIN. All cases were diagnosed through X-ray, CT, or MRI scans. For the suspicious ones, the pathological biopsy was performed for an accurate diagnosis. X-ray examinations were carried out for the postoperative follow-up. Capanna criteria for bone cyst was used for postoperative evaluation of three methods. RESULTS: All cases accomplished the follow-up. The effective rate of the ABM + ESIN group was significantly higher than that of the ABM group (P < 0.05), and the cure rates of the ESIN group and the ABM + ESIN group were higher than that of the ABM group (P < 0.05, respectively). The cure time in the ESIN group was lower than that of the other two groups (P < 0.05, respectively). The times for admission were 2.0 ± 0.0 in the ESIN group, 5.7 ± 1.9 in the ABM group, and 4.7 ± 2.4 in the ABM + ESIN group (P < 0.05 when compared with each other). CONCLUSIONS: The method of ABM combined with ESIN for children’s bone cyst has the highest effective rate and curative rate. For the individual method, ESIN has a higher effective rate and curative rate than that of ABM. Meanwhile, it has the fewest time of hospitalization.