title: Intralesional curettage of central low-grade chondrosarcoma: A midterm follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to review the experience of surgical treatment of low-grade chondrosarcoma and to assess the long-term oncological and functional outcomes between intralesional curettage and wide excision.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 11 patients with central low-grade chondrosarcoma lesions treated with intralesional curettage or wide excision from 1998 to 2013. Seven patients were treated with intralesional curettage and local adjuvant treatment (Group A), and four patients were treated with wide excision and reconstructive surgery (Group B). The mean age of patients was 43.8±17.6 years (range, 20-71 years), and the mean duration of follow-up was 84.4±47.6 months (range, 48-194 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group A had a significantly lower complication rate than Group B; three complications were documented in Group B (0% vs. 75%, p=0.024). The operative time (177.1 hours vs. 366.3 hours, p=0.010) and the hospital stay (6.6 days vs. 12.5 days, p=0.010) were significantly shorter in Group A. There was one local recurrence in Group A without statistical significance. Also, there were no differences between intralesional curettage and wide excision with respect to the blood loss. No metastasis disease occurred in either group during the follow-up period. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scores in Groups A and B were 99.0±2.5 and 94.2±4.2, respectively, with statistically significant difference (p=0.048).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extended intralesional curettage has the benefits of good MSTS score, shorter operative time, shorter hospital stay, and lower complication rate without increasing local recurrence in central low-grade chondrosarcoma. For central low-grade chondrosarcoma, we suggest extended curettage to decrease soft tissue damage and surgical risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Joint Reconstruction, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yi-Chou
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Joint Reconstruction, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Orthopedic Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Therapeutical and Research Center of Musculoskeletal Tumor, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Po-Kuei
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Joint Reconstruction, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Orthopedic Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Therapeutical and Research Center of Musculoskeletal Tumor, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Cheng-Fong
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Joint Reconstruction, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Orthopedic Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Therapeutical and Research Center of Musculoskeletal Tumor, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: wmchen@vghtpe.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Wei-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003475:Curettage / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D061646:Operative Time; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: extended curettage; low-grade chondrosarcoma; wide excision