Giant Chondrosarcoma of the Clavicle - A Case Report and Literature Review

Clavicular mass lesions are frequently malignant, with myeloma, Ewing’s sarcoma, and osteosarcoma comprising most cases. An infrequent diagnosis, more commonly seen in the pelvis and proximal femur, is a clavicular chondrosarcoma. These lesions are frequently chemo and radio-resistant, and for this reason complete surgical excision with clear margins offers the best chance of cure. The clavicles subcutaneous location through-out its course is favourable in this regard, and a complete claviculectomy is regarded as the surgical procedure of choice. Several papers note the minimal disability incurred by the complete removal of this unique, horizontally orientated, long bone. We report a 57-year old male patient who presented to our unit with a right-sided painless clavicular mass, of 1-years duration, that was progressively increasing in size. On examination a mass of alarming size was demonstrated, yet subsequent radiological investigations demonstrated only local, and fortunately resectable, spread. He was taken to surgery where we proceeded to successfully perform a total claviculectomy, utilizing a specific stepwise surgical technique. We recommend that the surgical technique, which we describe, is that which should be followed when a total claviculectomy is performed.