Fatty infiltration of osseous structures: a long-term complication of oleothorax--case report

MR imaging evaluation of disorders of the chest wall

Chest wall lesions constitute a diverse group of thoracic diseases, including those of soft tissue and osseous origin. MR imaging, with its superior tissue-resolving capability and multiplanar image acquisition, is an important tool for assessing chest wall lesions. In this article, the authors review common and uncommon diseases of the chest wall, with an emphasis on the MR imaging characteristics of these diseases. Among the diseases they discuss are diseases of the soft tissue including lipoma, hibernoma, liposarcoma, hemangioma, and lymphoma. They also examine diseases of the osseous thorax, including benign osseous tumors, fibrous dysplasia, and aneurysmal bone cyst. In addition, they discuss such malignant osseous tumors as osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma.

Paraffinoma of the knee

We present the case of a 90-year-old man with a swollen, painful knee and a history of paraffin injections. Radiography showed soft tissue streaky and nodular calcifications without erosions. MR imaging showed globular areas of low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images which became even more hypointense on STIR sequences, and an infiltrative hypointense region containing areas of high signal on T1-weighted, T2-weighted and STIR images. Biopsy confirmed soft tissue foreign body granulomata, fibrous reaction and areas of inflammation. We believe this to be the first report of MR imaging of paraffinoma outside the breast.