Spinal osteochondromas are progressively expanding lesions during the growth period of the skeleton and the lesions often become quiescent when the epiphyses of secondary ossification centers of the vertebral column are closed.
Only 1.3 to 4.1% of solitary osteochondromas involve the spine 1).
Most vertebral osteochondromas arise from the cervical or upper thoracic spine.
Lumbar osteochondromas have rarely been reported.
They usually become symptomatic during the second and third decades of life. Neurological symptoms caused by spinal osteochondromas are quite rare because most of the lesions grow out of the spinal canal 2).
Surgery is the best choice for the treatment of symptomatic spinal solitary osteochondromas. However, asymptomatic lesions can be followed conservatively. Local recurrence and secondary malignant transformation rates of osteochondromas are significantly low. In the literature, surgical treatment was reported to improve the neurological deficit in nearly %90 of cases of spinal cord compromise caused by solitary osteochondromas. No adjuvant therapy is necessary after the surgery 3) 4) 5).