Garre’s Sclerosing Chronic Osteomyelitis of Femur in an Adolescent

INTRODUCTION: Garre’s sclerosing osteomyelitis (GSO) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease resulting in thickening of cortices with loss of medullary canal without any signs of active infection. CASE REPORT: A 13-year-old boy presented in 2017 with the right thigh pain of 3 years duration, who had exhausted all conservative attempts. We operated the patient with intramedullary reaming with antibiotic-impregnated cement augmented Kuntscher nail, which got jammed. The nail was subsequently removed and left-over cement pieces required an extended trochanteric osteotomy with aggressive curettage. The intra-operative culture was negative at all times, but histopathology suggested chronic inflammation. The patient had complete relief of symptoms at 2 years follow-up with all acute phase reactants reaching baseline and no further periosteal deposition. A follow-up magnetic resonance imaging was not possible due to stainless steel implants in situ. CONCLUSION: GSO is a confusing diagnosis that must exclude other mimickers and may recur even after surgical debridement.