Diaphyseal aneurysmal bone cyst: pathogenic hypothesis and a review of theliterature

Purpose of the study Diaphyseal aneurysmal bone cyst is very rare. We report a case in a 20-year -old female. Patient and method The clinical signs developed rapidly, within one month. The lesion was firs t curetted and grafted with cortico-cancellous bone. Recurrence was observe d 6 months later. Complete excision and reconstruction with a free fibular vascularized grafted enabled healing. Discussion The pathogenesis of aneurysmal bone cysts is debated. We hypothesize that i t is due to the opposed direction of periosteal and medullary blood circula tion. This could explain the relative rarity of diaphyseal localizations co mpared with metaphyseal localizations.