Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Illusionist

These images are from a patient with a "vanishingly" rare disease which affects children and young adults (age<40). Although almost any bone can be affected, the shoulder girdle, pelvis, and mandible are most common. The lesion is nonulcerative but locally aggressive. You take a biopsy which shows no malignant cells but intraosseous proliferation of hemangiomatous or lymphangiomatous tissue. Osteolysis is present. The disease is not hereditary. Some patients present with pain, swelling, or a pathologic fracture, while others are asymptomatic. There are no specific laboratory findings.

Challenge: Only 150 cases of this disease have been described; what is it?

Image shown under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

1 comment:

Craig said...

The Illusionist

Gorham's disease or vanishing bone disease is a rare disorder that involves vascular proliferation and resorption of bone.

Sources: Cases Journal "Gorham's disease involving the left parietal bone: a case report." www.casesjournal.com; Wikipedia.