What Is the Cause of Osteoma? Types & Symptoms

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Medical experts do not yet fully understand what exactly causes osteomas, although there may be a genetic component

Medical experts do not yet fully understand what exactly causes osteomas, although there may be a genetic component.

Osteoma may be associated with Gardner's syndrome, which causes colorectal polyps and both benign and malignant tumors.

What is an osteoma?

Osteomas are benign bone tumors that commonly develop on the skull or the long bones such as the femur and tibia. Because they are noncancerous, they do not metastasize to distant organs. However, they can cause compression of the nerves and blood vessels associated with the affected bones, leading to symptoms such as pain and headache. 

On the skull, osteomas tend to form on the jawbone and bones adjacent to paranasal sinuses, leading to sinus infections.

What are the different types of osteomas?

There are three types of osteomas:

1. Compact osteoma: Tumor is mainly made up of compact or dense bone material
2. Spongy osteoma: Tumor is similar to normal bone and may include bone marrow
3. Mixed osteoma: Tumor has both compact and spongy types of cells

What are the signs and symptoms of osteomas?

Signs and symptoms of osteomas depend on the location and size of the tumor.

If the tumor is small and does not involve any nearby organs, it’s possible that the condition does not cause any symptoms. The tumor may remain undiagnosed unless a bone scan is done.

However, if the tumor size is big enough, the following structures may be involved:

• Long bones: Tumors in the long bones (tibia and femur) are called osteoids. Osteoids can lead to the compression of nearby nerves and vessels, causing bone pain, obstruction in blood flow, difficulty moving joints, etc.
• Sinuses: Tumors can obstruct sinus drainage, leading to mucus buildup and infections, causing sinusitis.
• Jawbone: Tumors on the jawbone can cause pain when eating and talking due to the movement of the mandible. Pain can sometimes radiate to the entire face.
• Skull bones: Tumors on skull bones can lead to headache.
• Eye: Tumor growth around or inside the eye can cause the eye to protrude, also called proptosis.
• Ear: Tumors near the ear can lead to compression of the auditory nerve, leading to temporary hearing loss or earache.

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How is osteoma diagnosed?

Bone scans are very useful for diagnosis:

• X-rays
• Computed tomography scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging scans

Additionally, a biopsy of the tumor may be taken to assess whether it is benign or malignant.

What is the treatment of osteoma?

If the osteoma is small and causes no symptoms, only monitoring may be needed.

However, if it is large enough, options include surgical intervention for the removal of the tumor or ablation (destruction) of tumor by radiofrequency waves.