Solitary Osteochondroma of the Tibial Tuberosity Mimicking Osgood-Schlatter Lesion: A Rare Cause of Anterior Knee Pain in Adolescents: A Case Report

• Main Authors: Balaji G, Palaniappan P, Nema S, Menon J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malaysian Orthopaedic Association 2016-07-01
• Series: Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal
• Subjects: Knee tibia; exostoses; osteochondroma; adolescent
• Online Access: http://www.morthoj.org/2016/v10n2/solitary-osteochondroma.pdf

Osteochondroma arising from the tibial tuberosity is very rare. We report such a case which mimicked OsgoodSchlatter’s disease in an adolescent. A 12 years-old boy presented with swelling over his right proximal tibia of one year duration associated with pain in the last three months. Examination revealed a 4 x 2cm bony mass arising from the proximal tibia. Radiographs revealed an osteochondroma of the tibial tuberosity. Computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the continuity of the medulla of the bony mass to that of the parent bone. Excision biopsy was done. At the final follow up, he was asymptomatic and returned back to his daily activities. We present this case for its rarity, challenges involved in diagnosis and the difficulties encountered in planning the surgery because of involvement of the apophysis and extensor mechanism attachment in a skeletally immature boy.