Bone & joints

Other nonneoplastic

Synovial lipomatosis



Last author update: 1 June 2013
Last staff update: 6 December 2023

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PubMed Search: Synovial lipomatosis

Vijay Shankar, M.D.
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Cite this page: Singh C, Shankar V. Synovial lipomatosis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/jointssynoviallipomatosis.html. Accessed March 29th, 2024.
Definition / general
  • Pseudotumor of synovium with distinct histomorphology, possibly due to inappropriate fat deposition and degenerative articular diseases of joints (J Lab Physicians 2011;3:84)
Terminology
  • Also called Hoffa disease, villous lipomatous proliferation of synovial membrane, diffuse lipoma of joint, lipoma arborescens
  • Not a WHO diagnosis
Epidemiology
  • Rare
  • Older patients, usually male, associated with joint trauma, degenerative joint disease and chronic arthritis
Clinical features
  • Rare; usually knee but may occur in any joint
  • Unknown etiology
  • Men are commonly affected with pain and swelling of joint
  • MRI is useful in diagnosis (Radiol Med 2005;109:540)
Case reports
Treatment
  • Arthroscopy and excision
  • May recur since often is a reactive process
Gross description
  • Enlargement of infrapatellar fat pad with pain in anterior compartment of knee; synovium is papillary, yellow and fatty
Gross images

Contributed by Mark R. Wick, M.D.
Microscopic (histologic) description
  • Synovial hyperplasia with unremarkable fat extending to synovial lining; occasional chronic inflammatory infiltrate
Microscopic (histologic) images

Images hosted on other servers:

Villi-like structures

Papillary architecture

Mature adipocytes

Focal hyperplasia

Few mature lipocytes

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