Bilateral synovial chondromatosis of the elbow in an adolescent: a case report and literature review

Intermediate Outcomes of Shoulder Synovial Chondromatosis in an Adolescent Boy: A Case Report

CASE

Synovial chondromatosis is a rare condition affecting synovial joints. It occurs uncommonly in the shoulder and is rare in the pediatric population. We present a case of a 13-year-old male patient with shoulder pain who was diagnosed with synovial chondromatosis and a posterior labral tear. He was treated with arthroscopic loose body removal, synovectomy, and posterior labral repair and recovered well from the surgery. Four years after the surgery, he developed pain in the same shoulder, but the cause of the pain was not investigated per the patient's decision.

CONCLUSION

Synovial chondromatosis should be considered in pediatric patients presenting with shoulder pain and loss of function with potential for recurrence.

Giant synovial chondromatosis of hip

Synovial chondromatosis is a rare, benign condition occurring due to metaplasia of synovium. A 65-year-old woman presented with pain in her right hip for 6 years. On examination, a swelling was palpable at the base of scarpa's triangle and her right hip movements were restricted. Imaging modalities showed ossified nodules in the antero-inferior aspect of the hip joint, joint effusion and arthritic changes. We diagnosed the patient to have synovial chondromatosis with secondary arthritis of the hip joint. We performed a total hip arthroplasty with simultaneous synovectomy and extraction of the osteochondral loose bodies, 5 of which were about 2×2 cm in size. We found that excessive acetabular reaming was required due to craters, the osteochondral masses formed on the acetabular surface. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis. The patient had an excellent functional outcome and no recurrence 5 years following the surgery.

Synovial macrophages in cartilage destruction and regeneration-lessons learnt from osteoarthritis and synovial chondromatosis

Inflammation is a critical process in disease pathogenesis and the restoration of tissue structure and function, for example, in joints such as the knee and temporomandibular. Within the innate immunity process, the body's first defense response in joints when physical and chemical barriers are breached is the synovial macrophages, the main innate immune effector cells, which are responsible for triggering the initial inflammatory reaction. Macrophage is broadly divided into three phenotypes of resting M0, pro-inflammatory M1-like (referred to below as M1), and anti-inflammatory M2-like (referred to below as M2). The synovial macrophage M1-to-M2 transition can affect the chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in joints. On the other hand, MSCs can also influence the transition between M1 and M2. Failure of the chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs can result in persistent cartilage destruction leading to osteoarthritis. However, excessive chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs may cause distorted cartilage formation in the synovium, which is evidenced in the case of synovial chondromatosis. This review summarizes the role of macrophage polarization in the process of both cartilage destruction and regeneration, and postulates that the transition of macrophage phenotype in an inflammatory joint environment may play a key role in determining the fate of joint cartilage.

Diagnosis and Arthroscopic Treatment of Synovial Chondromatosis of Glenohumeral Joint: A Case Report

Introduction:

Synovial chondromatosis is a rare benign entity with the presence of cartilaginous or osseous loose bodies in the synovium. It commonly involves the larger joints such as the knee, hip, ankle and rarely the shoulder joint manifesting with pain, swelling, and restriction of movements. The treatment of choice is surgical intervention in symptomatic patients using either the open or the arthroscopic approach.

Case Report:

Here, we report a rare case of synovial chondromatosis affecting the right shoulder joint in a 23-year-old male with a 5-year disease duration who presented with progressive pain and restriction in movements which were impacting his routine activities. The loose bodies were removed using the arthroscopic approach combined with a partial synovectomy, and intra-articular methylprednisolone post procedure. The patient showed an excellent recovery in joint mobility within 4 weeks post-operatively, and there were no clinical signs of recurrence during a 6-month follow-up period.

Conclusion:

We believe that arthroscopic surgery is effective in the treatment of patients with synovial chondromatosis with advantages such as good visualization, lesser morbidity, and early return of functional activities.