Synovial Hemangioma of the Knee Management and Excellent Outcome 2 Years after Arthroscopic Synovectomy in a 25-year-old Male with a 20-year History

INTRODUCTION: Synovial hemangioma is a rare condition with <200 published case reports in world literature and is frequently misdiagnosed, leading to diagnostic delay of many years. This delay is even more significant if the patient comes from a rural background with a dearth of medical facilities in the area. This case had a lag of nearly 20 years from the time of onset of symptoms and the required management which is the maximum reported for any synovial hemangioma since most of them have been found and treated in adolescents. CASE REPORT: We present a case of an atypical synovial hemangioma in a 25-year-old Indian male from a poor socioeconomic background with a delay of 20 years who had both recurrent knee effusions and long-standing knee pain but kept ignoring his symptoms. It was managed by arthroscopic synovectomy. The patient reported to us after 2 years after the surgery with a painless knee and full range of movement. CONCLUSION: Synovial hemangioma mostly affects the knee joint, showing recurrent bloody effusions without a history of trauma. If there are no intermittent effusions, the diagnosis will be even more difficult. In cases of non-specific symptoms and long-standing knee pain of many years, the diagnosis of a synovial hemangioma should also be considered. In this particular case, magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate the patient after the plain radiographs and showed characteristic lace-like or linear patterns. Diagnostic arthroscopy and surgical excision were done in the same sitting, and biopsy was sent to the histopathology laboratory which confirmed our diagnosis. Although this patient had the disease since 20 years and presented late, he had little degeneration of cartilage at the time of arthroscopy. The functional outcome at 2-year follow-up was excellent, and he had no disability, effusion and was pain free.