Synovial hemangioma within Hoffa's fat pad as the cause of anterior knee pain. 2 cases within a family and review of the literature

Abstract

An 18 years old man and his younger sister suffered from anterior knee pain. Cause is a soft tissue tumor located within Hoffa's fat pad however in both cases. The tumor has been excised and the histological examination demonstrated the diagnosis synovial hemangioma. A literature search shows that synovial hemangiomas are rare soft tissue tumors. They mainly involve the knee joint. Mean age is the second decade of life and most authors observed severe degenerative changes in the involved knee joint. There are no reports about familiar accumulation within the literature. Familiar accumulation of synovial hemangiomas however have been described for cerebral, skin and hepatic manifestations but not for synovial hemangiomas.