Background: Juxta-articular intraosseous cystic lesions (JAICL) are common lesion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and could cause spontaneous pathological fractures and extensive joint destruction. Although surgical treatment is well indicated for benign bone tumour such as solitary bone cyst, RA induced JAICL have been rarely treated surgically because of following reasons. The first is the possible re-absorption of grafted bone due to disease progression. The second is donor site problem of iliac bone autografting. The third is limitation of autograft for possible operations in the future. The fourth is the lack of bone graft substitutes with good osteoconductivity. We have developed the interconnected porous calcium hydroxyapatite ceramic (IP-CHA) with excellent osteoconductivity. The IP-CHA achieved major incorporation with host bone much more rapid than the other porous calcium hydroxyapatite ceramics. We evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of curettage and packing with the IP-CHA for the treatment of JAICL in RA patients.

Methods: Nine JAICL in 7 RA patients were treated by curettage and packing with IP-CHA. Eight lesions were impending pathological fractures. Two were male and five were female, the average age of operation was 57.8 years (range, forty-nine to seventy-two years). Follow-up assessment was based on final radiography at an average of 10.9 months after surgery (range, five to seventeen months). The expansion of the cystic lesions around the implanted IP-CHA and the re-absorption of the IP-CHA itself, which means erosion or increasing porosity of implanted IP-CHA, were assessed on the basis of the radiographies at just after operation and final follow up.

Results: The locations were as follows: distal radius, 6 lesions; distal ulna, 1; proximal tibia, 1; distal fibula, 1. No lesions showed the re-absorption of implanted IP-CHA itself. One of 9 lesions showed out-expansion of radiolucent area around the implanted IP-CHA without re-absoption of IP-CHA itself at the final follow-up. There were no postoperative fractures as complication.

Conclusions: These results suggested that surgical intervention with the IP-CHA could be useful for prevention of pathological fractures due to arthritis related JAICL. The efficacies of this technique might be augmented by amelioration of disease activity with concomitant drug therapy including biologics, since there was one case with out-expansion of cystic lesions in RA patients.

We reviewed the results of 51 patients with benign bone tumours treated by curettage and implantation of calcium hydroxyapatite ceramic (CHA). The mean follow-up was 11.4 years (10 to 15.5). Post-operative fractures occurred in two patients and three had local recurrences; three had slightly limited movement of the adjacent joint and one had mild osteoarthritis. There were no allergic or neoplastic complications. In all cases, radiographs showed that the CHA was well incorporated into the host bone.

Statistical analysis showed that absorption of the implanted CHA was greater in males (odds ratio, 6.2; 95% CI, 1.6 to 23.7) and younger patients (odds ratio, 0.6 for increase in age of 10 years; 95% CI, 0.91 to 0.99). However, the implanted CHA was not completely absorbed in any patient.

We conclude that CHA is a useful and safe bone substitute for the treatment of benign bone tumours.

We have investigated the significance of local recurrence on survival in 173 patients with localised soft-tissue sarcomas of the limbs and of the trunk.

The overall survival rates at five and ten years were 75.2% and 68.0%, respectively. After definitive surgery at our hospitals, there was local recurrence in 25 patients (14.5%). After inadequate operations elsewhere, there was a higher incidence of late local recurrence (28.3%), in comparison with those with primary tumours treated by us (9.0%), or patients referred to us immediately after inadequate surgery elsewhere (10.2%). Because of small numbers these differences in the survival rates were not statistically significantly different.

Univariate survival analysis showed that local recurrence after definitive surgery (p = 0.006) together with the histological grade (p = 0.0002), the size of the tumour (p = 0.002), its depth in relation to deep fascia (p = 0.003), and the surgical margin (p = 0.0001) were the significant prognostic factors. Local recurrence at the initial presentation did not affect survival. Multivariate analysis showed that local recurrence after definitive surgery also lost its apparent prognostic significance.