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An osteoma, in so many words, is a bit like the medical version of Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will.
We say this because not because an osteoma is rare, but because it just seems so unlikely.
What is an osteoma? Basically, it’s a growth formed when a piece of bone begins to grow on top of another bone. As such, an osteoma is, essentially, a benign, slow-growing bone tumor. They mostly appear on the skull, but they will appear on other bones, as well.
The skin on top of your head, meanwhile, is fairly tight compared to the skin of less bony parts of the body, so a tumor under the skin on top of your head can look quite frightening. People who develop an osteoma might worry that they have cancer or another dangerous condition.
But in most cases, these growths are relatively harmless, although headaches and related symptoms are a possibility. Because they are slow-growing, usually painless and not-life threatening, many doctors treat an osteoma by taking care of the symptoms — medication to alleviate headaches, for example. To treat the osteoma itself, surgery is often required.
How Does An Osteoma Form?
As said, an osteoma is a growth of bone somewhere on the body. Commonly, it grows from another piece of bone, but it can occur in almost any tissue in the body. But by far, the most common place for someone to develop one of these growths is on the skull.
Someone who suffers from this kind of growth might have a visible lump growing on their head, which can be alarming and embarrassing. But the good news is that these growths are almost never cancerous. The vast majority are benign tumors, which means that they are at no risk of metastasizing, or becoming cancerous.
What causes osteomata to appear is unknown, although there are several theories. One theory points to genetics as a possibility for making someone predisposed to developing these kinds of growths. This is the case for many different types of tumors.
Other possible causes include infections and Gardner’s Syndrome.
Most forms of bone tumors cause no symptoms other than the obvious lump under the skin. But in some cases, the growth can occur inside the skull or sinuses. In these cases, the pressure on the underlying tissue can lead to a few problems such as recurring sinus pressure, headaches or infections. Patients can also develop problems with vision, hearing and cranial nerve palsies.
It’s possible to have this type of growth and have no idea that it’s causing these kinds of symptoms since growths inside the skull can be hard to detect. It’s important that if you’re suffering from frequent headaches and sinus infections that you see a doctor as soon as possible. These symptoms can often be the first sign of serious problems and are always worth getting checked out.
And in the case of a bone growth, there are a few things that doctors can do to resolve your symptoms.
How Can You Treat It?
The first step in any treatment plan is getting a diagnosis. To do this, a doctor will start by asking you a series of questions about your symptoms. They will try to judge your risk for these kinds of growths by asking questions about your family history, particularly a history of tumor development. In cases when the growth is on the outside of the skull, it is usually so obvious that a doctor can do a simple visual inspection. They may then choose to do a biopsy of the tumor, where they remove a bit of the tissue and examine it, to determine whether or not the tumor is composed of bone or some other tissue.
If it is an osteoma, there are two types. Compact osteomata are formed of mature, lamellar bone. Spongy osteomata are formed of trabecular bone with marrow. Trabecular bone is porous and weak, whereas lamellar bone is woven and fibrous. Lamellar bone is mechanically stronger.
Sometimes the osteomata can be hard to detect during a standard physical. If the doctor believes that your list of symptoms may point to an osteoma, they will use CAT scans or other imaging techniques to diagnose the problem. A CAT scan is usually the first choice, as it produces high-resolution images so a doctor can see the location and size of the tumor.
Sometimes, after finding a tumor, the doctor may decide it’s best to leave it where it is. Most tumors are small and slow growing and unlikely to cause many problems. In these cases, it is sometimes not necessary to treat them. But if the tumor is causing symptoms like persistent headaches, or likely to grow into the brain and cause problems, then the doctor may wish to remove it surgically.
The most common way to treat these growths is to actually cut them away, although there are other methods like radiofrequency ablation, where the surgeon uses radio waves to pulverize the growth from the outside of the skull.
These surgeries are usually quite safe and carry little risk of complication. But it’s always best to weigh the benefits and risks of surgery with your doctor.
So, let us know, have you suffered from an osteoma? What did you do to treat it? Tell us in the comments.
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