Boutaina Essaher, Sqalli Houssaini Yahya, Amar Samia, El Fenni Jamal, El Kadiri Salma
Journal: Medpeer Publisher
ISSN: 3066-2737
Volume: 3
Issue: 8
Date of Publication: 2026/08/19
Lipoma arborescens (LA) is an uncommon benign, non-neoplastic synovial lesion characterized by villous replacement of the subsynovial tissue by mature adipose tissue. It most often involves the knee, particularly the suprapatellar recess, and typically presents with chronic swelling and recurrent joint effusion. We report the case of a 63-year-old man with a five-month history of progressive left knee swelling and recurrent effusions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a frond-like synovial proliferation with signal characteristics of fat, including high signal intensity on T1-weighted images and suppression on fat-saturated sequences, associated with joint effusion and enhancement confined to the synovial lining. The patient underwent open total synovectomy, and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Symptoms resolved postoperatively, with no clinical evidence of recurrence at the latest follow-up. Recognition of this characteristic MRI pattern enables a confident preoperative diagnosis, helps guide surgical management, and may reduce unnecessary diagnostic procedures.
Lipoma arborescens; knee; synovium; joint effusion; synovectomy
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