Atypical and bilateral pigmented villonodular synovitis of wrist in an adolescent patient: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare benign proliferative disorder of the synovium. It rarely occurs in adolescents, particularly in immature patients with bilateral manifestation.

CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of atypical and bilateral PVNS of wrist in a 14-year-old boy. Initially, the patient presented with left wrist pain and swelling without the history of trauma. Physical examination revealed an obvious lesion in the dorsal part of left wrist. Radiographs, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple abnormal signal shadows and arthroedema in the left wrist. Arthroscopy operation was performed, and histologic examination suggested the diagnosis of PVNS. Only 10 months later, the patient presented with the similar symptoms and signs in the right wrist. But MIR and histologic examination were atypical. In this article, we also review and summarize 26 studies on 30 adolescent patients with PVNS.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides an example of atypical and bilateral PVNS in adolescents.