An unusual cause of shoulder pain: osteochondroma of ventral scapula (a case report).

Osteochondromas mainly affect the metaphysis of long bones such as femur, humerus, and tibia. It is unusual in flat bones such as scapula. Osteochondroma of ventral surface of scapula is one of the rare cause of shoulder pain and difficult to diagnose in first place. We report the case of an 18-year old girl, presenting progressive right shoulder pain for two years. Physical examination showed an imbalance of the shoulders, a winging of the right scapula, and a snapping of the shoulder on mobilization. Radiographic evaluation showed a pedunculated bony structure extruding from the scapula. Computed tomography (CT) scanner and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a bony exostosis along the medial border on the ventral surface of the right scapula. The patient had an excision of the exostosis. Histologic examination confirmed that the specimen was an osteochondroma with no signs of malignant transformation. The shoulder was immobilized for two weeks. The patient has regained full function of her shoulder, six weeks postoperatively.

Cervical spine tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis of the cervical spine differs from other vertebral localizations by its extreme rarity, the clinical images are very diversified, the radiological measurements allow a good diagnostic orientation and specifically the MRI which allows a multi-planar study of the various lesions. Only bacteriological evidence can confirm the diagnosis. The treatment is based on a 12-month antituberculosis multidrug therapy and much debate upon the surgical indication. In our case, the patient presented with bilateral cervicobrachialgia with pain on examination at the mobilization of the cervical spine. A standard X-ray, a cervical CT scan, and a cervical MRI were performed, showing a C4 vertebral body compression of a probably infectious origin. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of a Cervical Pott's Disease that had been treated with anterior arthrodesis and TB treatment with rehabilitation, the patients' neurological symptoms improved, and he was doing well.

C1-C2 instability in psoriatic arthritis.

Cervical spine damage is common in psoriatic arthritis especially in older forms and it is rarely initiated by symptomatic atloid-axoid instability. Spinal involvement is frequently associated with sacroiliac dysfunction, the cervical spine involvement is observed in 35%-75% of cases with two types of radiological lesion. Upper cervical spine localization often manifests as C1-C2 arthritis, lower cervical spine involvement is manifested by syndesmophytes, ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament and posterior inter apophyseal osteoarthritis. Our case is about a late onset upper cervical spine instability in a 45-year-old patient who has been treated for 20 years for rheumatism and has checked for paraesthesia's of the four limbs and gait difficulty that have been evolving over the last 3 months and the outcome of this case is that a C1-C2 instability must be systematically checked for in view of the appearance of deficient signs.