One step open synovectomy without adjuvant therapy for diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis of the knee in a soccer player

Pigmented villonodular synovitis is a proliferative disease involving joints, bursas and tendon sheaths with typical histological changes in the synovial tissue. A local and diffuse form are described. Aetiology is uncertain, MRI is helpful to establish the diagnosis, which is confirmed with by biopsy. Treatment is based on the principles of tumor resection: arthroscopically in the local form, or by a open synovectomy in the diffuse form, often followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. The rate of recurrence is high, but differs in consideration of the treatment chosen. We report a 35 year old soccer player with diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis with a history of chronic swelling knee. The patient underwent a one step open synovectomy without adjuvant therapy, with the conservation of the heads of gastrocnemius muscle. At five years of follow-up, the patient had no sign of recurrence of the condition. One step open synovectomy in this patient showed an excellent outcome with the return to his previous sport. The short follow-up and the neoplastic characteristic of the disease cannot exclude the risk of recurrence.