[Arthroscopic treatment of pigmented villonodular synovitis of the ankle: a clinical case report and review].

Pigmented villonodular synovitis is a benign tumor of synovial tissue with a very low incidence. Ankle location is even less frequent. Early diagnosis and management are required to avoid irreversible functional and mechanical sequelae. The clinical presentation starts with edema or joint effusion and may progress with pain and advanced joint degenerative changes. Pigmented villonodular synovitis can be focal or diffuse, the latter being the type with the worst prognosis. When suspected, magnetic resonance imaging is performed, and the diagnosis confirmed with a biopsy in which synovial inflammatory tissue with hemosiderin deposits is observed. An open or arthroscopic synovectomy is preferred over surgical management. Recurrence is up to 40%, which is why biological coadjutant therapies and radiotherapy are described. This article presents the case of a 30-year-old man who presented with pain and claudication of the left ankle; the imaging study findings were compatible with diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis of the ankle with extension to the subtalar joint, leading to arthroscopy for treatment and biopsy. This case report illustrates the results with this patient and a literature review of the subject.