Remodeling of the cervical facet joint after minimally invasive microendoscopic resection for cervical osteoid osteoma

Study Design. Case report and systematic review of the literature. Objective. To describe a rare case of remodeling of the cervical facet joint after the microendoscopic resection of an osteoid osteoma. Summary of Background Data. Osteoid osteoma, the third most common benign bone tumor, is often treated by imageguided percutaneous removal of the nidus. However, percutaneous resection poses technical difficulties when the tumor is located near the spinal cord or nerve roots. To our knowledge, there are no reports describing postoperative remodeling of the cervical facet joint after surgical resection of an osteoid osteoma. Methods. A 13-year-old boy was presented with neck pain that became worse at night. Computed tomography showed an osteoid osteoma in the right 7th cervical superior articular process. We successfully resected the nidus of the osteoid osteoma using minimally invasive microendoscopy. Results. The patient was symptom-free at the 1-year follow up, and computed tomography images showed new bone formation at the C6/7 facet joint. Conclusion. This case indicates that microendoscopic resection is safe and effective for treating a cervical osteoid osteoma. This technique allowed total resection of the nidus with only minimal damage to the adjacent soft tissue and bone, and induced remodeling of the resection site.