Synonyms: disappearing,phantom or vanishing bone
Features:
(1) The process may involve the appendicular or axial skeleton, most often the shoulder or pelvis.
(2) There may be an abrupt or insidious onset of pain in the affected bone.
(3) There may be swelling, weakness and/or limitation in the range of motion.
(4) A biopsy of affected bone shows a non-malignant proliferation of thin-walled blood vessels (hemangioma and/or lymphangioma like).
(5) Radiographs of the bone show diffuse osteolysis with eventual deformity.
Complications:
(1) fracture of the affected bone
(2) chylothorax (ribs, scapula, vertebral bone), which is associated with a poor prognosis
(3) paraplegia (vertebral bone)
(4) extension into adjacent soft tissue or viscera
Diagnosis requires exclusion of other conditions which may share some features.
