Benign Bone Tumors of the Foot and Ankle ,

Benign bone tumors of the foot and ankle typically present both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to podiatric surgeons. These lesions have a relatively low incidence of occuffence in the foot and ankle when compared to other regions of the body, and the behavior of these lesions may mimic malignant tumors. Not only is it impofiant to recognize a specific lesion to insure proper treatment, but the ability to differentiate a benign from malignant process is of utmost importance. It is difficult to determine the true incidence of benign bone tumors of the foot and ankle. Most large studies do not distinguish individual tarsal bones, nor is there a distinction made befween proximal and distal aspects of the tibia and fibula. Dahlin's Bone Tumors has reported findings of the Mayo Clinic up until 7993.' Of a total of 2334 benign bone tumors affecting the whole body, 3.3o/o involved the foot and 19 .3o/o involved the tibia and fibula. Of a total of 5642 malignant bone tumors affecting the entire body, 7.30/o involved the foot and 12.40/o involved the tibia and fibula. Table 1 displays the percentage of each lesion found in the leg and foot. The lesions represent a percentage of local lesions compared to the total number of lesions reported for the studies. It does seem apparent that the overall incidence of foot and ankle involvement is relatively low, but some tumors do occur with a somewhat frequent rate. Primarily, enchondroma, osteochondroma, osteoid osteoma, simple (unicameral) bone cysts, and aneurysmal bone cysts are somewhat common in the foot and ankle.