Our story of our son's left femur ABC. There's a new procedure you should know about!
Dealing with femur bone cysts in growing children. Read on....
Firstly, there's hope, don't despair!
This is the history or our Son's "benign" femur bone cyst, also known as a Simple Bone Cyst (Or Aneurysmal Bone Cyst).
We went through 4 procedures over a 4-yr period to get to a point where we hope this thing is finally under control.
Discovery of Bone Cyst: Our son was 5 when he started limping. At first we thought he had sprained his angle and waited a few weeks to see if it resolved itself. This was a mistake as when we did finally decide to get an x-ray we discovered a very large bone cyst in his upper left femur bone that was very close to his growth plate. Naturally this was a shock and frightening as we didn't know if it was benign or not until we had the first Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure (Thank God it was Benign). After the removal of the cyst and allograft, our son was put in a spica cast for 6-weeks. Anyone who has gone through this will know that this is not an easy thing to deal with. After the 6-weeks, it took at least another 6-weeks for him to walk normally without a leg brace - in addition, he was not able to participate in any type of activity that included running, climbing, jumping, etc. until the bone healed (This can take 1-yr).
Approximately 6-months later the cyst recurred. Although he had grown and the cyst was now further away from the growth plate, we still opted to go with another Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure to prevent the possibility of a bone fracture which everyone knows is the worst case scenario when dealing with these cysts. Another 6-months of spica and rehab.
Approximately 4-months later we discovered the "thing" coming back (At this point we considered it to be a "thing" that was relentless). Now we didn't know what to do. The alternatives were another Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure, Cryotherapy with Bone Allograft, or possible injections instead of either of the aforementioned. The problem with injections as that time was we weren't sure how strong his bone was and if it would survive not doing the more aggressive procedures. So, we opted for the Cryotherapy with Bone Allograft which was indicating a 90% success rate with aggressive bone cysts. We prayed and went through yet another 6-months of rehab, etc.
1-yr later the "thing" came back. Wow, what a nightmare to keep seeing this recur but still we had no choice but to deal with it. You see, if you just leave it (Believe us, at this point we thought about leaving it), you take a chance of the bone fracturing and needing pins and the bone not growing/forming normally in a growing child. So, the research continued. Finally we were blessed to find a Doctor in Tampa, Florida that was using a new substance from Germany to inject into the cyst after aspiration of the fluids. This substance hardens (Like a thick foam) and stops the cyst from growing and also acts as support for the bone (In lieu of a metal plate, etc.).
The Doctor that brought us what appears to be the ultimate solution is Dr. Doug Letson of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Inst. in Tampa, FL (813) 745-2297. Dr. Letson specializes in Cancer of the bones but also specializes in Pediatric Orthopedics of all kinds.
So, don't give up, keep searching and you will find a solution - hopefully sooner than later. That is why we are spreading our story over the Internet. We simply want to share our success with other parents that might be in the same situation as we found ourselves.
God Bless and please feel free to e-mail should you have any questions or just want to chat.
Let's blog about it http://bonecystsinchildren.blogspot.com/
Treatments for Bone Cysts in Children
Dealing with femur bone cysts in growing children. Read on....
This is the history or our Son's "benign" femur bone cyst, also known as a Simple Bone Cyst (Or Aneurysmal Bone Cyst).
We went through 4 procedures over a 4-yr period to get to a point where we hope this thing is finally under control.
Discovery of Bone Cyst:
Our son was 5 when he started limping. At first we thought he had sprained his angle and waited a few weeks to see if it resolved itself. This was a mistake as when we did finally decide to get an x-ray we discovered a very large bone cyst in his upper left femur bone that was very close to his growth plate. Naturally this was a shock and frightening as we didn't know if it was benign or not until we had the first Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure (Thank God it was Benign). After the removal of the cyst and allograft, our son was put in a spica cast for 6-weeks. Anyone who has gone through this will know that this is not an easy thing to deal with. After the 6-weeks, it took at least another 6-weeks for him to walk normally without a leg brace - in addition, he was not able to participate in any type of activity that included running, climbing, jumping, etc. until the bone healed (This can take 1-yr).
Approximately 6-months later the cyst recurred. Although he had grown and the cyst was now further away from the growth plate, we still opted to go with another Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure to prevent the possibility of a bone fracture which everyone knows is the worst case scenario when dealing with these cysts. Another 6-months of spica and rehab.
Approximately 4-months later we discovered the "thing" coming back (At this point we considered it to be a "thing" that was relentless). Now we didn't know what to do. The alternatives were another Curettage with Bone Allograft procedure, Cryotherapy with Bone Allograft, or possible injections instead of either of the aforementioned. The problem with injections as that time was we weren't sure how strong his bone was and if it would survive not doing the more aggressive procedures. So, we opted for the Cryotherapy with Bone Allograft which was indicating a 90% success rate with aggressive bone cysts. We prayed and went through yet another 6-months of rehab, etc.
1-yr later the "thing" came back. Wow, what a nightmare to keep seeing this recur but still we had no choice but to deal with it. You see, if you just leave it (Believe us, at this point we thought about leaving it), you take a chance of the bone fracturing and needing pins and the bone not growing/forming normally in a growing child. So, the research continued. Finally we were blessed to find a Doctor in Tampa, Florida that was using a new substance from Germany to inject into the cyst after aspiration of the fluids. This substance hardens (Like a thick foam) and stops the cyst from growing and also acts as support for the bone (In lieu of a metal plate, etc.).
The Doctor that brought us what appears to be the ultimate solution is Dr. Doug Letson of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Inst. in Tampa, FL (813) 745-2297. Dr. Letson specializes in Cancer of the bones but also specializes in Pediatric Orthopedics of all kinds.
So, don't give up, keep searching and you will find a solution - hopefully sooner than later. That is why we are spreading our story over the Internet. We simply want to share our success with other parents that might be in the same situation as we found ourselves.
God Bless and please feel free to e-mail should you have any questions or just want to chat.
Let's blog about it http://bonecystsinchildren.blogspot.com/
Catherine @ cat@catzanawebs.com