Background: Heterotopic bone formation in abdominal incisions is a recognized but uncommon sequela of abdominal surgery. The condition of heterotopic bone formation in the abdominal scar may not only cause physical and/or emotional discomfort for the patient but also mimic a retained foreign body or recurrence of a malignant condition. All cases of two surgeons representing a wide variety of general and thoracic surgery were reviewed, and three primary cases and one recurrent case of heterotopic bone formation in an abdominal wound were identified. These cases are compared with the cases available in the English literature to enhance the recognition, appropriate diagnosis, and treatment options available for the patient with this unusual condition.
Methods: All cases for two surgeons representing a variety of general and thoracic surgery were reviewed. Three patients with painful heterotopic calcification of an abdominal incision requiring excision were identified. One patient had undergone an upper midline laparotomy for pancreatitis and the other two had undergone median sternotomy for cardiac surgery. One of these patients developed a painful recurrence of upper linea alba calcification. All patients were male and ranged in age from 51 to 74 years. Primary heterotopic calcification of the upper linea alba occurred between 2 and 4 months for all patients. All cases were treated with excision and primary tissue closure. The case of recurrent calcification occurred 1 1/2 months after primary closure, and was treated with re-excision and 1,200 centirads of postoperative radiotherapy to the incision area over 3 days, starting on postoperative day 1. The 2 cases of primary heterotopic calcification successfully treated with the initial excision have been followed for 2 and 6 years respectively without recurrence. The case of recurrent heterotopic calcification treated with re-excision and postoperative radiotherapy has been followed for 10 months without recurrence.