Considering the evidence of the available literature, the loose bodies located inside the scapulo-humeral articulation, whether intra-articular or in the mucosal bags, are an exceptional finding. Even though osteocartilaginous loose bodies are most likely to be of traumatic (eg: bony-Bankart) or atraumatic (osteochondritis dissecans) origin, in case of primary or secondary osteochondromatosis, they can originate from synovial metaplasia. Patients during clinical evaluation often suffer from joint pain and locking sensation. The traditional radiological examination is useful in case of bony fragments but is intrinsically not...

A 71-year-old woman came to our observation after suffering from right shoulder pain for about 2 years. Pain started worsening in the last 4 months with sudden onset of global functional limitation, in particular considering abduction (limited to 90°) and intrarotation (limited to “hand on side”) movements. The patient has never experienced joint loking episodes. No significant traumatic events have been reported in the anamnestic reconstruction. After performing the ultrasound evaluation, we demonstrated thickening of both walls of subacromial bursa with fluid distension and a...

After the procedure the patient experienced immediate pain relief, with reduction of the pain symptomatology from VAS 8 to VAS 3 and full articular ROM recovery both in abduction (180 °) and intrarotation (thumb at the level of the paravertebral). Anti-inflammatory drugs were not taken in the days following the operation. The hypothesis of surgical treatment should always be considered in symptomatic patients with recovery possibilities when the conservative treatments fail. [4] Arthroscopy is held to be the best therapeutic strategy in most cases: less...

After a careful analysis of the available literature our experience turns out to be a unique case, both for the relative rarity of the pathology itself, and for the innovative mini-invasive approach proposed.

[1] P. Raval, A. Vijayan, and A. Jariwala, "Arthroscopic Retrieval of over 100 Loose Bodies in Shoulder Synovial Chondromatosis: A Case Report and Review of Literature," (in eng), Orthop Surg, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 511-515, Nov 2016. [2] B. M. Acharya, P. Devkota, S. K. Shrestha, N. S. Pradhan, and S. Ahmad, "Bilateral symmetrical synovial chondromatosis of shoulder: a case report," (in eng), Rev Bras Ortop, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 647-650, 2018 Sep-Oct 2018. [3] R. Andrade, "Glenohumeral Synovial Chondromatosis," (in eng), J...