Infrapatellar fat pad haemangioma: Case report

Abstract

We present a case of a 38-year-old woman with a soft tissue mass on the right knee in medial infrapatellar area. The flexion of the knee appeared to be limited and a pain was present at maximal flexion. Ultrasonography, standard X-ray and CT scan were performed for diagnosis of this soft tissue tumour. MRI was not done due to technical problems. Anyhow the MRI could provide us with more presumptions of the type of the tumour, but it will not affect the surgeon's decision for operation. Anyway the final diagnosis will come out of the histopatological findings. Arthroscopic examination was performed in order to eliminate possible problems into the joint followed by open wide excision. A soft tissue tumour with dimensions of 5 x 4 x 1.5 cm was excised. Histopathological diagnosis was synovial haemangioma located in the infrapatellar fat pad. The patient was asymptomatic postoperatively. Haemangiomas located in infrapatellar fat pad are rare. Orthopaedic surgeons can often be confused by more common entities like chondromallatia of patella, synovitis of the knee, Hoffa's disease, other soft tissue tumours, even lesion of meniscus. So, accurate diagnosis is very important for differentiation. Operative excision, arthroscopic or open wide, is definitive treatment for this benign tumour.