ABSTRACT
We report 25 patients (20 female) aged 34 to 74 years old, with monoarticular synovial chondromatosis. Affected joints were tha knee in 25 cases, the ankle in one case and the elbow in one case. Chronic articular pain was the main symptom, followed by swelling, limitation in motion range, free palpable bodies and symptomatic popliteal cysts. X ray examination showed free calcified osteochondroid bodies in 48 percent of patients and secondary osteoarthritis in 36 percent. Bone scintiscan showed an increased focal uptake. All pathological samples had chondroid or osteochondroid nodules; 64 percent had small blood vessels, thickened with concentric collagen laminae and 20 percent had isolated chondrocytes. Malignant degeneration was not observed. Surgical or artroscopic synevectomy was the procedure of choice in 20 knees. In the affected elbow and ankle, extraction of free bodies was the sole procedure. No recurrences were observed. It is concluded that synovial chondromatosis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic articular pain and monoartritis