[Back pain--when both patients and physicians are in deep waters]

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Radiology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Intraosseous pneumatocysts are rare, benign bone lesions.
• Often discovered incidentally as lytic processes on X-rays.
• Computed tomography (CT) is crucial for diagnosis.

Observation:

• A patient presented with recurrent, short-duration lower back and hip pain.
• Symptoms were exacerbated by shallow water diving and air travel.
• Previous hip trauma was noted.

Findings:

• X-rays revealed a lytic process in the left iliac bone.
• CT confirmed an intraosseous pneumatocyst in the left iliac bone.
• The patient experienced symptom relief after CT-guided cyst puncture and destruction.

Implications:

• Consider intraosseous pneumatocysts in the differential diagnosis of unexplained lower back and hip pain.
• Minimally invasive treatments can be effective for symptomatic pneumatocysts.
• This case highlights a simple causal treatment for a rare condition.