Introduction:
Osteochondroma is a benign bony lesion with cartilaginous cap occurring usually in long bones, but flat bones may also be involved, either isolated or as a part of a syndrome. Usually, they are asymptomatic, but appearance of symptoms such as mass effect may warrant surgical intervention, which is usually delayed till skeletal maturity.
Case report:
A 4-year-old male child presented with swelling on ventral aspect of inferior angle of scapula associated with pain, pseudowinging of scapula, and snapping sound of the left shoulder on movement. Despite young age of the patient, the severity of the symptoms required immediate intervention. After preoperative workup and planning, the mass measuring 4 cm × 3 cm × 2.5 cm was resected completely, following which the patient was relieved of all the symptoms without any recurrence for the next 7-month follow-up. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma. Normally, as the growth usually stops after skeletal maturity, surgical intervention is delayed till that time. In our case, the symptoms were so debilitating that it required immediate surgical resection, following which the patient was symptom-free for the next 6 months and there were no clinical signs or symptoms of recurrence.
Conclusion:
Excision of osteochondroma can be safely performed in a case, where it is debilitating, progressive, or unmanageable much before skeletal maturity with fair results.