Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Synovial lipomatosis in dogs joint tissue and lab findings
By Kuroki, Keiichi et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2025·University of Missouri·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine synovial lipomatosis: Clinicopathologic findings and HGMA2 immunohistochemistry in 4 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog was diagnosed with synovial lipomatosis, a rare condition where fat builds up in the joints, after showing signs of joint problems. In a study of 188 dogs with joint issues, only four cases of this condition were found, indicating it’s quite uncommon. One dog had a history of a knee problem called lateral patellar luxation, while the others showed signs of inflammation in the joint without any previous arthritis. Unfortunately, the exact cause of synovial lipomatosis is still unknown, and treatment details were not specified in the study.
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Abstract
Synovial lipomatosis is an uncommon, intra-articular, fat-containing, proliferative lesion with unknown etiology that is rarely reported in dogs. A retrospective study spanning 13 years was conducted to search for cases of canine synovial lipomatosis. Among 188 synovial biopsies of major diarthrodial joints (ie, shoulder, elbow, carpus, hip, stifle, and tarsus) from 186 dogs, 4 cases (2.1%) of synovial lipomatosis were identified. One case occurred in a stifle with chronic lateral patellar luxation. The other 3 cases had microscopic evidence of synovitis (eg, synovial hyperplasia, lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates, hemosiderin-laden macrophages, myxomatous changes, fibrosis, and increased vascularity) but lacked a clinical history of arthritis. Immunohistochemistry for HMGA2 was negative, suggesting canine synovial lipomatosis is a non-neoplastic proliferative lesion, yet the cause remains unknown.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39748544/