Treatment of traumatic myositis ossificans circumscripta; use of aspiration and steroids

The classification, clinical presentation, forms of treatment, and theories of pathogenesis of traumatic myositis ossificans circumscripta are reviewed. A group of 7 patients with this lesion was treated with hematoma aspiration and injection of steroids, lysosomal enzymes, and xylocaine, resulting in significant limitation of disability. The determining factor in the development of this disorder seems to be the response of local soft tissues to trauma rather than the magnitude of the trauma itself which we feel accounts for the success of the form of treatment described.