Painful Pseudowinging and Snapping of Scapula due to Subscapular Osteochondroma: A Case Report

Osteochondroma or exostosis is most common benign bone tumors. They are usually seen in the metaphyses of long bones with more than 35% of cases affecting the bone around the knee and are seldom found in flat bones like scapula. When present in scapula, they may cause abnormal scapulothoracic movements leading to pain, snapping, and pseudowinging of scapula.

We describe a novel case of osteochondroma arising on the ventral aspect of right scapula in a 16-year-old otherwise healthy female patient causing snapping and pseudowinging of scapula and occasional pain in affected area. X-ray and computed tomography findings were consistent with an abnormal bony mass arising on ventral aspect of superior border of the scapula. The patient was treated with open extraperiosteal resection of the mass with relief of symptoms. The histopathological diagnosis was consistent with osteochondroma with no signs of malignancy.

In a patient with winging and snapping of scapula one should be aware of rare diagnosis osteochondroma along with other more common etiology.