Name: Maria Rivera
E-mail : 3marias@info.com.ph
Adult: 52 years old
Location: Philippines
Areas of body affected: right femur and right knee
Personal History:
Sometime in 1996, I went to see an orthopedic doctor to complain about a clicking right knee. He ordered an X-ray or MRI, I don't exactly remember now because I lost the said plates in the course of seeking a second opinion. The first doctor wanted to do a biopsy immediately. The second doctor, Dr. Antonio Rivera, said it was a bone calcification and recommended exercises. Sometime in April of 2004 I sat on the floor to fix my lower cabinets. I was fine the whole night but when I woke up the following morning, I felt I had a pulled muscle. I was limping for 2 consecutive days; my right leg felt very heavy. I felt pain every time the right thigh extending up to my hip area would touch the bed's surface. I went to see another doctor at the Asian Medical Center who subjected me to an X-ray. The X-ray finding showed large osteolytic and obsteoblastic lesion probably representing bone tumor involving the distal metaphysis and physis of the right femur. The diaphysis showed sclerotic marrow. The lesion has a wide zone of transition from the normal bone. The margin is non-sclerotic. The lesion in the distal metaphysis shows soap bubble appearance. There is questionable soft tissue swelling noted. Primary consideration is a bone tumor with signs of aggressive behavior. The X-ray of the pelvis showed a popcorn-like calcification in the soft tissues of the right hip adjacent to the greater trochanter of the right femur. There are minimal marginal ostephytes in the superior acetabular rims. The joint spaces are intact. I went through a whole body bonce scanning at the Makati Medical Center and the conclusion was abnormal, non-specific radioactivity at the right hemipelvis and right femur. I went back to Dr. Antonio Rivera after having undergone MRI at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center. The impressions given by Dr. Tan are as follows: 1. The radiograph, bone scan, and contrast-enhanced MRI examinations favor a diagnosis of monostotic sclerosing dysplasia with melorheostosis and osteopathia striata. 2. A more distant possibility is chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis of Garre. 3. The possibility of a blastic neoplasm is considered much less likely. Bone infarction is also considered unlikely. 4. The current MRI examination was not designed to evaluate the region of the right hip. However, the corresponding radiographs and bone scan demonstrate possible previous avulsion injuries with associated dystrophic calcification.
I am very thankful that bone cancer has been ruled out. I am also happy for all the information that I have gathered through the website and hope that my case history can help in understanding this rare bone disease.