Garré Disease With Club-Shaped Thickening of the Femur

A 62-year-old female patient without underlying disease presented at the orthopedic surgery department with a 10-year history of mild pain in her left thigh. Standard potential diagnoses were ruled out as causes of her symptoms on the basis of her medical history. Laboratory tests revealed the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was significantly elevated to 90 mm/h (normal: <20mm/h). Anteroposterior X-ray of the left femur showed obliteration of the marrow cavity with widening of the cortex associated with increased bone density and significant periosteal reaction, creating the appearance of a “club-shaped femur”. Histological examination of the bony tissue confirmed the diagnosis of Garré’s sclerosing osteomyelitis The patient was treated with analgesics and a watchful waiting approach. At the 3-year follow-up visit, she reported pain relief and no new symptoms.

Figure

Anteroposterior X-ray of the left femur

Garré’s sclerosing osteomyelitis is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder, which is characterized by periosteal reactions, ossifying periostitis, and bone neoformation.

Shuzhong Liu, MD, Xi Zhou, MD, Yong Liu, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China, [e-mail].

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

Cite this as: Liu S, Zhou X, Liu Y: Garré disease with club-shaped thickening of the femur. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2021; 118: 788 DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2021.0072