Other Characteristic Conditions of Haemophiliacs

Abstract

Bleeding episodes—independent of arthropathy—are frequent in the musculoskeletal system. In the majority of cases, haemorrhages occur intramuscularly, and their site, size and extension are sufficiently revealed by physical examination. However, the situation is entirely different when the bony substance is damaged by the haemorrhage. Bone destruction may be due to a primary intraosteal or subperiosteal haemorrhage, yet in most cases the pressure of intramuscular bleeding or haematoma accounts for bone usuration [180]. Since the first description of pseudotumour [181], 80 cases [182] have been reported. Pseudotumour may occur in the long tubular bones, first of all in the lower extremities. Over one third of the cases have been reported in the femur, somewhat less than one third in the pelvis. Generally, the lesion is related to trauma. The pseudotumour often appears as an irregular calcification or ossification in the soft tissue shadow, surrounded by bone erosion and bone regeneration. The radiological picture often indicates an extraosteal origin.