Arthroscopic treatment of intra-artricularly localised pigmented villonodular synovitis of the ankle: 4 cases with long-term follow-up

Background context Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare, locally aggressive benign proliferative pathology of synovial tissue. Lesions are classified regarding location as diffuse or localised which are same as histologically. Intra-articularly localised type is relatively rare, especially in the ankle joint. Because of the high recurrence rate and aggressive nature, localised lesions should be excised totally. Purpose We performed a retrospective study of 4 patients with intra-articularly localised PVNS in the ankle joint who were treated by total arthroscopic excision and evaluated for functional results and recurrence rate. Study design Case series. Patient sample The mean age of the patients was 27 (17–46) years at the time of arthroscopic surgery. The mean follow-up time was 33 (24–48) months. Methods Functional evaluation according to the Musculoskeletal Tumour Society Score was performed, and patients were evaluated for recurrence by MR imaging. Results In all patients, functional results were excellent and there was no recurrence. Conclusions This study demonstrates that the intra-articularly localised PVNS can be successfully treated with arthroscopic procedures without recurrence. © 2017