A clinical prospective study of diffuse PVNS in a teaching hospital

Abstract

Pigmented villonodular synovitis is a very rare but still an aggressive tumour which involves bursae, tendon sheaths and synovium. The foot and ankle involvement in PVNS is around 2 -10%. We conducted a prospective study of 8 patients with PVNS of foot and ankle with diagnosis confirmed by X-ray, MRI, histopathology at Mysore Medical College. Mean age was 28.87 (14-46) at diagnosis. All the patients underwent open synovectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy. At an average follow up of 22 months, 6patients reported better functional outcomes. Although 2 patients were symptomatic, none of the patients had recurrence of the disease. Thus we conclude that open synovectomy with radiation therapy would reduce the risk of recurrence in diffuse PVNS without causing functional impairment.