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MRI of Hoffa's fat pad
D Saddik1, E G McNally, M Richardson
1Department of Radiology, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, OX3 7LD, Headington, Oxford, UK.
Skeletal Radiology
|June 29, 2004
Summary
Injuries to Hoffa's fat pad are common but underreported. This review covers traumatic, degenerative, and neoplastic conditions affecting this knee structure, aiding radiological diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Orthopedics
- Knee Anatomy
Background:
- The infrapatellar fat pad of Hoffa is frequently injured but seldom detailed in radiological literature.
- Abnormalities are typically due to trauma or degeneration, but inflammatory and neoplastic conditions can also affect it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the spectrum of abnormalities affecting Hoffa's fat pad.
- To highlight the differential diagnoses for common and rare pathologies.
- To discuss the utility of MRI in differentiating conditions.
Main Methods:
- Review of radiological literature concerning Hoffa's fat pad pathologies.
- Discussion of imaging findings for various conditions.
- Emphasis on MRI characteristics.
Main Results:
- Common traumatic lesions include post-arthroscopy injuries and those from impingement syndromes or patellar dislocation.
- Infrapatellar plica syndrome can also be traumatic.
- Ganglion cysts require differentiation from meniscal or cruciate cysts.
- Primary neoplastic conditions of synovium can arise within the fat pad.
- MRI can help differentiate effusion from acute synovitis based on posterior pad changes.
Conclusions:
- Hoffa's fat pad pathologies encompass a range of traumatic, degenerative, inflammatory, and neoplastic conditions.
- Accurate radiological assessment, particularly with MRI, is crucial for diagnosis and differentiating from other intra-articular lesions.
- Further discussion in radiological literature is warranted given the frequency of injury.