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Case Reports
. 2017 Jun 13;1(3):e018.
doi: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-17-00018. eCollection 2017 Jun.

Posttraumatic Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis of the Elbow After Occult Fracture: A Literature Review

Christopher A Caruso  1 , Timothy P Leddy  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Posttraumatic Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis of the Elbow After Occult Fracture: A Literature Review

Christopher A Caruso et al. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. .

Abstract

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a disease rarely found in the elbow. In the setting of previous trauma, there are no documented reports of PVNS occurring in the posttraumatic state. We report a case of elbow PVNS in a 16-year-old male with a history of traumatic injury to the supracondylar humerus and olecranon, resulting in nondisplaced fractures, diagnosed 3 years prior to presentation. We diagnosed posttraumatic PVNS of the elbow using a combination of plain radiographs, ultrasonography, and MRI, along with an infectious, hematologic, and rheumatologic workup. This workup cumulates in open elbow débridement of synovial tumor, with pathology confirming our preoperative diagnosis of PVNS. A literature search and review of PVNS in the elbow yield only 54 results, none of which is related to previous fracture. In the neurosurgery literature, however, there is a case report of a pathological fracture of the odontoid related to PVNS.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the following authors or any immediate family member has received anything of value from or has stock or stock options held in a commercial company or institution related directly or indirectly to the subject of this chapter: Dr. Caruso and Dr. Leddy.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
AP (A) and lateral (B) radiographs of the right elbow, August 2012.
Figure 2
Figure 2
AP (A) and lateral (B) radiographs of the right elbow, February 2013.
Figure 3
Figure 3
AP (A) and lateral (B) radiographs of the right elbow, November 2015.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A and B, sonograms of the right elbow, November 2015.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A and B, T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the right elbow, November 2015.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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