[Pigmented villonodular synovitis of the knee joint--long-term follow-up and therapeutic concept].
Because of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVS) 17 of 14,500 knee operations were accomplished at our institute between 1975 and 1993. Diffuse PVS (DPVS) was observed in 7 patients, local PVS (LPVS) in 9 patients; in 1 case LPVS was diagnosed on both joints. 15 knees could be examined 4.8 years after first surgery. 3 recurrences (42.9%) were found in the group of DPVS. In the group of LPVS no recurrent tumor growing was observed. It is demonstrated that partial arthroscopic synovectomy is a sufficient therapy in LPVS. The recurrence rate of DPVS ranges from 8 to 50%, the mean recurrence rate described in literature is 31.3%. Neither arthroscopic nor open synovectomy lead to a complete healing of DPVS. Recurrent arthroscopic synovectomy and regular clinical examination using sonography and particular MRI are the best therapeutical concepts in DPVS.