Aneurysmal bone cyst of the talus: a case report of local recurrence treated with adjuvant therapy

Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a locally destructive benign tumour-like condition of the bones with blood-filled cystic cavities. The talus is an extremely rare site for an ABC, with < 20 reported cases till 2012 based on a PubMed database search. ABC recurrence in the talus after curettage and bone grafting is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, no detailed reports of resection and adjuvant therapy with artificial bone packing of recurrent ABC of the talus have been published. We report a case of ABC in the talus of a 9-year-old boy. As the initial surgery consisted of only lesion resection and artificial bone (beta-tricalcium phosphate [TCP]) packing, local recurrence was diagnosed. Reoperation was performed 5 months after the initial surgery. The recurrent lesion was resected using a curette, and the bone cavity septum was shaved with high-speed burr. Phenol-ethanol ablation was used as adjuvant with artificial bone (beta-TCP) packing to prevent recurrence. No local recurrence was observed 36 months after the reoperation. This extremely rare case of resection and adjuvant therapy with artificial bone packing of recurrent ABC of the talus highlights the need for careful observation to assess the progression of ankle joint osteoarthrosis.