Scoliogenic osteoblastoma of the posterior end of the rib. A case report.

True back pain is uncommon in children and adolescents. The authors report a case of scoliosis associated to osteoblastoma in a very unusual site--the rib. This particular location was reviewed in the literature and appears to have an incidence of 0.41% as compared with osteoid osteomas and osteoblastomas in general. The case reported was a 14-year-old girl presenting with a 32 degree scoliosis that reduced to 9 degrees after excision of the lesion. The authors recommend personal review of bone scans as poor communication between the orthopedic surgeon and the isotope expert may make an osteoblastoma be interpreted as a radiographic artifact.