Giant cell tumor of the lower end of tibia. Curettage and cement reconstruction

• We describe two cases of giant cell tumor of the lower end of tibia.
• Ankle localization of giant cell tumor is rare.
• Giant cell tumor is benign but aggressive with a tendency toward local recurrence.
• Intralesional curettage and cement packing is a good treatment option in our cases.

Bone giant cell tumor (GCT) is a rare, generally benign and locally aggressive tumor. It accounts for about 5% of all primary bone tumors and is located preferentially on the epiphyseal long bone. Ankle localization is rare. We present two cases of GCT of the lower end of tibia, presenting as gradually increasing pain and swelling in the tibial pilon over the course of 3 months. Standard radiology and MRI showed large eccentric, expansile lesion in the distal tibia with rupture of the cortex suggestive of a malignant tumor of the bone. A biopsy was performed which confirmed a GCT of bone. Curettage of the lesion and packing the cavity with bone cement resulted in disappearance of the tumor with good functional recovery. We conclude that intralesional curettage and cement packing is a good treatment option for Campanacci grade 2 and 3 GCT lesions of lower tibia.