Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Manifestations of Spinal Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis

摘要

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a slowly progressive lesion of uncertain etiology that involves the synovial membrane of joints or tendon sheaths. Pigmented villonodular synovitis mostly occurs in the limbs of load-bearing joints, and large joints such as the knee and hip are particularly prone;spinal involvement is rare. The current literature regarding PVNS mostly comprises case reports, and no systematic report has been published regarding the imaging manifestations of PVNS. Consequently, radiologists do not have a high level of awareness of the disease. Because of its general appearance of obvious bone destruction and soft tissue mass, PVNS can be easily misdiagnosed as malignant disease and is often misdiagnosed as such before operation. In this article, a retrospective analysis of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of 7 cases of spinal PVNS was performed to improve the preoperative diagnostic accuracy rates. We also report the findings of a rare case of spinal PVNS that precisely resembled synovial cysts of a vertebral facet joint.