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Updated: Oct 1, 2025
Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Resection arthroplasty for isolated costotransverse joint osteoarthritis: A case report and literature review
Julia Pereira Muniz Pontes1, Pedro Henrique Costa Ferreira-Pinto1, Louise Ferreira Nascimento Pestana da Costa1
1Department of Surgical Specialties, Neurosurgery Teaching and Assistance Unit, Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Background:
Symptomatic isolated costovertebral joint (CVJ) osteoarthritis is rare, and establishing this diagnosis is often difficult. There are few reports in the literature about how to surgically manage these lesions. Our aim was to describe a case of isolated osteoarthritis of the costotransverse joint (CTJ) successfully treated with a resection arthroplasty.
Case Description:
A 51-year-old female presented with 3 years of the right paravertebral T 10-level back and radiating pain. No conservative treatment modality effectively resolved this pain (i.e., these included anti-inflammatory medications, physiotherapy, and joint blockages). MRI, CT, and technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy demonstrated inflammatory changes involving the right T10 CTJ. Following resection arthroplasty, the patient's symptoms abated.
Conclusion:
Symptomatic osteoarthritis of the right T10 CVJ successfully resolved following costotransversectomy for joint resection arthroplasty.
