Definition
Rare disease characterized by soft tissue deposition of hydroxyapatite, and an elevated phosphate.
Epidemiology
Found in first or second decades.
Often familial
Affects blacks more than whites
Aetiology
Unknown
Clinical
Firm painless swellings adjacent to joints, at sites exposed to daily trauma, such as the elbows, knees.
As the lesions enlarge they may cause disfiguration, functional impairment, ulceration and secondary infection.
Radiology
Well defined lobulated masses of calcification in periarticular tissue
Laboratory
The phosphate is elevated. The calcium is normal.
Treatment
Complete surgical excision, but recurrence is common.