Treatment of Chondroblastoma
Your child's physician will determine a specific course of treatment based on several factors, including:

your child's age, overall health and medical history

the location and size of the tumor (including whether a joint is involved)

the risk of fracture from bone weakness

whether the disease has recurred
 
Prompt medical attention and aggressive therapy are important in minimizing any possibility of the tumor spreading. Continuous follow-up care is essential because chondroblastomas have up to a 20 percent chance of recurring after successful removal.

1. Surgical options
Treatment aimed at removing the tumor and preventing damage to the end of the affected bone usually involves a surgical procedure, such as:

curettage and bone grafting: This is the most common treatment for chondroblastomas. During this procedure, the tumor is scraped out of the bone with a special instrument called a curette that has a scoop, loop or ring at its tip. The remaining cavity is usually filled with donor bone tissue (allograft), bone chips taken from another bone in the child's body (autograft). The graft takes two or three months to heal into the bone.

biopsy: During the operation, doctors will take a tissue sample of the tumor so that they can confirm the diagnosis under a microscope.

extended curettage: In some cases, our orthopedic surgeons perform an "extended" curettage using a special instrument to remove additional layers of cells around the chondroblastoma. This is done to reduce the risk of recurrence.

en bloc resection: Doctors may need to surgically remove bone containing the tumor if the tumor is located in the pelvis or certain other sites. They may insert pins and other hardware (internal fixation) to restore the structural integrity of the bone.

2. Alternative to surgery
percutaneous radiofrequency ablation: If the tumor is in a hard-to-reach location, doctors may prefer to perform this procedure, in which radio frequency waves  pass through a probe to kill the tumor cells by heating them to a high temperature. This procedure has the benefits of being minimally invasive and requiring less recovery time.