1Mufarreh N, 1Pedre M, 1Cox Z, 2Fakhoury O, 3Zats S, Marriott T, Zats S
1Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences, Palos Hills, IL, United States; 2Midwestern University, Palos Hills, IL, United States; 3MidAmerica Orthopaedics, Palos Hills, IL, United States
Transient bone marrow edema (TBME) is a condition with limited discussion in current literature and is often misdiagnosed. TBME typically presents in middle-aged adult men at a 3-to-1 ratio with a slight increase in the number of cases amongst females during the third trimester of pregnancy. The limited knowledge around predisposing factors—most notability vitamin D deficiency which is thought to contribute to poor osteoid formation—adds another layer of complexity when considering TBME as a differential diagnosis. While uncommon in all populations, it is extremely rare for healthy adolescents to present with transient bone marrow edema, thus introducing the purpose of this case report.
Herein we provide our clinical and surgical management of transient bone marrow edema in an otherwise healthy 16-year-old adolescent male. He presented to our foot and ankle clinic with chronic pain after originally being diagnosed with an ankle sprain versus avascular necrosis at an outside facility, and failing conservative treatment measures. Within this report, we highlight treatment from September 2017 to March 2020 with long-term follow-up imaging and outcome data. Most notably, the complete resolution of symptoms by postoperative day seven, with correlative imaging studies. Hereby illustrating the use of subchondroplasty as a viable treatment option for transient bone marrow edema of the navicular in an adolescent patient population.
