John T. Makley

Bone metastasis from gynecologic carcinomas: A clinicopathologic study

Between 1948 and 1984, autopsies were performed on 305 patients with primary carcinomas of the cervix, endometrium, ovaries, fallopian tubes, vulva, and vagina. Skeletal metastases were detected premortem and at autopsy in 49 cases (16.1%): cervix, 20 (40.8%); endometrium, 17 (34.7%); ovary, 7 (14.3%); vulva, 4 (8.2%); fallopian tube, 1 (2%). There were no cases of osseous metastasis from vaginal carcinoma. The incidence and sites of metastasis from these gynecologic carcinomas were correlated with their clinical and histopathologic classifications. This clinicopathologic study, based on autopsy data, demonstrates that osseous metastases are not uncommon, are significantly greater than clinically appreciated, and correlate with advanced anatomic stage and histopathologic type and grade.

Metastatic skeletal disease distal to the elbow and knee

Metastatic disease of bone is the most common example of bone cancer. The incidence of skeletal metastases varies from 6% to 85% depending on the primary tumor and the method of evaluation. Axial skeletal involvement is more common than appendicular involvement, and metastatic lesions below the elbow and knee are relatively uncommon. Fifty-seven autopsy subjects had had clinical evidence of metastatic involvement below the knee and elbow with an incidence of 7% (57/827). The lung was the most common primary site, and the tibia was the most common bone affected. Pain, local soft-tissue extension, and pathologic fractures were the most common presenting symptoms. Prior to 1960, most patients did not receive treatment. Until recent intervention, no treatment was offered to enhance the quantity or quality of patient survival.

Open quiz solution: Case report 736

This 50-year-old woman presented with progressive pain in the left thigh. Radiographs showed a 9 x 6 cm soft-tissue mass located at the lateral border of the left femur. Magnetic resonance (MR) examination showed an eccentric, nonhomogeneous, soft-tissue mass abutting the femur. The preoperative differential diagnosis was schwannoma, low-grade neurogenic tumor, large periosteal ganglion, or fibroma. At operation, the cut surface of the specimen had features of an organizing hematoma with recent remote hemorrhage and areas of fibrosis. Histopathological examination confirmed the presence of polarizable foreign body material in a background of foreign body reaction. The specimen represented a retained surgical sponge which had been present since the patients surgery for a comminuted fracture 35 years earlier. Gossypiboma, or cotton balloma, is a term used to describe a mass within the body composed of cotton matrix. Radiopaque markers are now present on surgical sponges, and their appearances have been well documented. The gossypiboma, however, may still present a diagnostic problem if the marker is distorted by folding, twisting, or disintegration over a period of time. Without the radiopaque markers, retained sponges are difficult, if not impossible, to diagnose, as was the situation in this case.

Osteogenic sarcoma: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma subtype

A distinctly different entity from the now well‐delineated malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of bone is the MFH histopathologic subtype of osteogenic sarcoma. Although uncommon, recently the authors have encountered six cases of this neoplasm, in each of which the soft tissue component was devoid of bone elements and was microscopically indistinguishable from MFH of bone or soft tissue. Neoplastic osteoid and woven bone were present in the osseous component of each tumor, however. Radiologically, the lesions generally were osteoblastic but focally osteolytic with features typical of osteogenic sarcoma. Pain was the most common presenting symptom. There was no age or sex predilection. Immunocytochemical staining showed strong positivity with alpha‐1‐antichymotrypsin within malignant bizarre giant cells and occasional neoplastic osteoblasts in five cases. The biological behavior followed a very aggressive course. Four of the six patients developed pulmonary metastases 6 to 12 months after initial surgery; one patient presented initially with pulmonary metastases. Adequate tumor sampling as well as optimal correlation with clinical and radiographic information are required to distinguish the MFH subtype of osteogenic sarcoma from MFH of bone, both being high‐grade neoplasms, however.

Primary amyloidoma of the spine. A case report and review of the literature

Primary amyloidosis of bone is a rare disease process. When amyloid lesions do occur in bone, they are often associated with myeloma or other plasma cell dyscrasias. Because of Its rarity and its protean clinical and radiographic picture adequate biopsy tissue for histopathologic studies is essential for accurate diagnosis. This case presents a 43-year-old man with nondescript back pain and an impressive radiographic lesion in his lower thoracic spine demonstrating the need for careful diagnostic evaluation and a high incidence of suspicion. When occurring primarily in a localized anatomic area, the prognosis for survival is excellent, and cure can be expected by local excision and reconstruction, as necessary.

Late-onset tibia vara: a histopathologic analysis. A comparative evaluation with infantile tibia vara and slipped capital femoral epiphysis

Histopathologic and histochemical studies were performed on the entire physes and contiguous structures of five knees (three patients) with late-onset tibia vara (Blounts disease). A constellation of abnormalities of both medial and lateral physeal components resulted in disorganization and misalignment of the physeal zones. The changes were remarkably similar to those observed in both infantile tibia vara and slipped capital femoral epiphysis, suggesting a common etiology. Our evaluation indicates that asymmetric compressive and shear forces acting across the proximal tibial physis effect its disruption and causes suppression and deviation of normal endochondral ossification, thereby resulting in tibia vara.

The Effect of Reduced Barometric Pressure on Fracture Healing in Rats

Fracture healing in a series of fractures of the fibula in Fischer rats was studied at a simulated altitude of 18,000 feet in both acclimatized and unacclimatized animals.nnThe acclimatized animals healed their fractures as well as control animals did, but there was significant retardation of fracture healing in the unacclimatized animals, up to thirty and forty days.

Primary epiphyseal transplants and bone overgrowth in childhood amputations

Seventeen children aged newborn to 14 years underwent major through-bone amputations or revision at our two institutions. Ten patients (group 1) had primary autogenous epiphyseal transplants taken from the amputated limb and used to cap the open medullary canal of the residual limb. Seven patients (group 2) did not have epiphyseal transplants. Nine of 10 patients in group 1 (90%) had no problems related to bone overgrowth or delay in prosthetic fitting. In group 2, six of seven patients (86%) had clinically symptomatic bony overgrowth of 20 months after the index amputation on the average. Four patients had surgical revisions. Therefore, provided healthy autogenous donor epiphyses are available, we recommend primary epiphyseal transplants to avoid the complications of bone overgrowth in childhood through-bone amputations.

Primary retroperitoneal sarcomas: common symptoms, common diagnoses, uncommon disease

Primary retroperitoneal sarcomas may present with symptoms and signs that mimic common musculoskeletal disorders of the extremities that are quite remote from the source of the problem. This often misleads the clinician and results in delays in diagnosis. The authors present 6 patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma who had a common or nonspecific orthopaedic condition of the extremity. Delays in diagnosis ranged from 2 to 30 months. No patient survived his or her tumor. Clinicians should be alerted to the possibility of a retroperitoneal tumor that presents primarily or initially with extremity signs and symptoms but with few or no clues of the presence of a localized sarcoma in the retroperitoneal space.

Primary Neoplasms of the Thoracic and Lumbar Spine: An Analysis of 29 Consecutive Cases

Primary osseous neoplasms of the thoracic and lumbar spine are uncommon lesions. Between 1965 and 1982, of 1971 patients with musculoskeletal neoplasms, only 29 (1.5%) had primary osseous tumors in these locations. There were eight children and 21 adults. Back pain was the most common complaint in 25 patients (86%), and neurologic symptoms or deficits were present in 16 patients (55%). All lesions were visible on routine spine roentgenograms, while computed tomography and myelography demonstrated spinal canal encroachment and extradural spinal cord compression in 19 patients (66%). The histologic diagnoses included 11 benign and 18 malignant lesions. Benign lesions occurred predominantly in children and malignant tumors in adults. Treatment was individualized, based on the histologic diagnoses. Twenty-two patients had surgical resection of their lesions. Laminectomy without stabilization and arthrodesis resulted in late instability and neurologic deterioration in three of seven patients (43%) with malignant lesions. Resection and decompression combined with arthrodesis did not predispose to late instability. Twenty-one patients were followed for a mean of 4.1 years (range, two to 14 years). Eight patients died from malignant disease between one month and seven years after diagnosis.