Published in:
01-06-2005 | Scientific Article
Finding the unexpected: pathological examination of surgically resected femoral heads
Published in: Skeletal Radiology | Issue 6/2005
Login to get accessAbstract
Objective
To study the clinically diagnosed disease process but also identify additional, clinically undetected pathologies in femoral heads resected for replacement arthroplasty.
Design and material
A retrospective review was carried out of the pathological findings in 460 surgically resected femoral heads. Serial sections were submitted to low-energy fine-detail radiography, then decalcified sections stained by the WHO method were examined. The preoperative clinical and imaging diagnoses were compared with the pathological findings and special interest was placed on assessing the clinical significance of any unexpected, clinically undetected findings.
Results
The most common findings included the presence of bone islands (solitary osteomas) and areas of avascular necrosis in addition to the primary joint disease for which the patient underwent surgery. The preoperative symptomatology did not distinguish between the known primary disease and the additional pathological findings.
Conclusion
Some of the clinically unidentified lesions were of a size that fell below the ability of current clinical investigations to detect. However, the finding of lesions by tissue fine-detail radiography indicates that current, more sensitive clinical imaging techniques may identify them. Careful examination of surgically resected femoral heads is important to ensure that all pathologies are identified and assessed for clinical relevance.