Twenty-four patients were evaluated and diagnosed, between August 1975
and July 1989, as having probable osteoid-osteoma. Fifteen patients had
operative treatment (twelve immediate and three delayed); all fifteen had
complete relief of pain. The remaining nine patients were treated with
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications; all nine had complete relief
of pain, and six had resolution of the symptoms without using non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs, after an average of thirty-three months (range,
thirty to forty months) of treatment. Thus, long-term administration of
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can often be as effective as excision
for the treatment of osteoid-osteoma, without the morbidity that is
associated with the operation, especially in patients in whom operative
treatment would be complex or might lead to disability.