Purpose: To evaluate the technical feasibility and efficacy of percutaneous cryoablation for
the treatment of osteoid osteoma (OO) in adults.
Methods and Materials: A total of 50 patients (31 male and 19 female; mean age: 29.8 years) who underwent
computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous cryoablation for the treatment of OO
were evaluated retrospectively. Procedures were carried out under local anesthesia
and conscious sedation in 30 patients and under general anesthesia in 20 patients.
The ablation zone was evaluated with postprocedure magnetic resonance imaging at 6
weeks. Clinical outcome was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) to evaluate
severity of pain before the procedure, as well as at primary (6 weeks) and secondary
follow-up (6–64 months).
Results: All procedures were technically successful. Average VAS scores were 7.5 (range: 5–10)
before the procedure and after the procedure were 0.6 (range: 0–5; p < .0001) and 0.8 (range: 0–7; p < .0001) at primary and secondary follow-up, respectively. There were three minor
complications (6%) and no major complication. The overall clinical success rate was
96% (48/50), with one patient presenting only partial pain relief at primary and secondary
follow-up and the other demonstrating recurrence at 11 months that was treated successfully
with a second cryoablation procedure.
Conclusion: CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation is safe and effective in the treatment of OO,
and it can be accomplished without general anesthesia in selected cases.
