Ultrasound-guided Percutaneous Lavage as Treatment for Pellegrini-Stieda Syndrome with Suspected Same Patho-mechanism as Rotator Cuff Syndrome: A Case Report

INTRODUCTION: Pellegrini-Stieda syndrome is described as pain and restriction at the range of motioncaused by calcification in the medial collateral ligament (MCL) around the knee with the recognized radiographic findings of the lesion in the affected site. The pathomechanism of Pellegrini-Stieda is suspected to be similar as calcification of the rotator cuff that is thought to be reactive calcification followed by resorption and tendon remodeling involving four phases (pre-calcific, formative, resorptive, and healing) without any trauma history. Since the calcium deposit in the rotator cuff has been well managed by percutaneous lavage, in this case report, we assumed that the pathomechanism of Pellegrini-Stieda Syndrome is similar to calcification of the rotator cuff, thus can be treated with the same principle using ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage (UGPL). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to discuss UGPL as management for Pellegrini-Stieda with suspected similar pathomechanism to rotator cuff calcification. CASE REPORT: A 52-year-old woman came to the outpatient clinic with a week of severe pain in her right knee. The patient had difficulty walking due to stiffness and pain that is aggravated by moving her knee. Radiographic examination confirmed calcified lesions located within the MCL on the right knee. In consideration of the acute pain, we opted to perform UGPL procedure. Follow-ups were done 1 week and 1 month after the procedure. The patient reported no pain when walking and bending her knee during the follow-up examination and there was no complication noted. Overall, she was very satisfied with the result. We also interviewed her for the lower extremity functional scale Score which the patient gave 64 points and 72 points out of 80 for week 1 and 1 month, respectively, indicating favorable results. CONCLUSION: Based on our case, UGPL can be an option for treating Pellegrini-Stieda Syndrome because it produces the same result as UGPL on rotator cuff calcification. Surgery should be the last resort if this procedure fails. Future high-quality randomized controlled trials were required to determine the reliability of this method.