Synovial Chondromatosis in a Young Athlete: A Report of a Rare Case

Synovial chondromatosis is a rare and benign disorder that involves the synovial lining of joints, synovial sheaths and bursae. The synovial layer of the joint is affected by a metaplastic process which in turn converts it into cartilagenous tissue. Eventually, it gets dislodged and transformed into a loose body in the large joints. We report the case of a 24-year-old young athlete who presented with complaints of painful movements and restriction of joint movements associated with a growing deformity in the right knee joint. This case report aims to describe a rare synovial pathology that necessitated arthroscopic synovectomy and diagnostic arthroscopy to treat, particularly in younger individuals. The atypical feature, in this case, was metaplastic development from the peripheral joint capsule attached to the surrounding cartilage, which, to the extent that the authors are aware, has only been documented in one instance in the record. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed which demonstrated evidence of the joint effusion, synovial hypertrophy and a loose calcific body just anterior of the distal femoral condyle causing pressure over the patellar tendon anteriorly as well as a hyper-dense cyst in the popliteal region. Treatment often requires partial or complete synovectomy with either an arthroscopic or open approach.