Case Report

Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis of the Knee in a 9-Year-Old Child

Authors: Frank T. Saulsbury, MD

Abstract

This report describes a 9-year-old girl with pigmented villonodular synovitis of the right knee. She presented with a chronic bloody effusion of the knee. The diagnosis of pigmented villonodular synovitis was suggested by the findings on magnetic resonance imaging and confirmed at the time of arthroscopic synovectomy. This report emphasizes the importance of considering pigmented villonodular synovitis in the differential diagnosis of chronic hemarthrosis in children.


Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVS) is a benign but locally aggressive proliferative lesion of the synovial membrane. Monoarticular involvement is the rule, and the knee is the most commonly affected joint. 1,2 PVS should be suspected in a patient with a chronic joint effusion in whom arthrocentesis yields bloody or brownish synovial fluid. PVS is a rare disorder, with a reported incidence of 1 to 2 per million. 3 PVS occurs most commonly in young adults. It is quite rare in children. This report describes a 9-year-old child with PVS of the knee, and it serves to emphasize the importance of considering PVS in the differential diagnosis of hemarthrosis in children.

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