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Case Reports
. 2010 Feb;20(1):50-2.
doi: 10.4103/0971-3026.59755.

Lipoma arborescens of the elbow

K Ranganath  1 , Ganesh B Rao, Namitha
Affiliations
Case Reports

Lipoma arborescens of the elbow

K Ranganath et al. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

Lipoma arborescens (LA) is a rare non-neoplastic intra-articular lesion that most commonly affects the knee joint, especially the suprapatellar bursa. It rarely affects the elbow joint. There are a few reports of involvement of the bicipital radial bursa. We report a case of LA, with characteristic MRI features, affecting the elbow joint in a young male.

Keywords: Elbow; Lipoma arborescens; MRI; synovium.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1 (a,b)
Figure 1 (a,b)
Sagittal proton density weighted (a) and proton-density, fat-suppressed (b) images of the elbow show synovial proliferation with fat signal intensity (arrow in a), with suppression (arrow in b). The joint effusion is noted (double arrow in b). Humero-radial and humero-ulnar osteophytosis (arrowhead) is noted
Figure 2 (a,b)
Figure 2 (a,b)
Axial T2W gradient images show synovial hypertrophy (arrows) with joint effusion, also extending into the bicipital radial bursa (double arrows) with marginal osteophytes involving the humerus and ulna (arrowheads)
Figure 3 (a,b)
Figure 3 (a,b)
Coronal T1W images demonstrate fatty synovium (arrows) and marginal erosions involving the lateral epicondyle of the humerus (arrowhead)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Photomicrograph of the synovial tissue (H-E stain) shows villous synovial hypertrophy with superficial synovial cell lining (arrow), subjacent chronic inflammatory cells and abundant subsynovial mature adipocytes giving a vacuolated appearance (arrowheads).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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