Lesson of the month
Crystal unclear
P K K Wonga, J R Yorka, D Ryanb, D Sullivanc, N W McGilla
a Department of
Rheumatology, Rachel Forster Hospital/Royal Prince Alfred Hospital,
Sydney, Australia, b Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rachel
Forster Hospital/Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, c Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Correspondence to: Dr McGill, Royal Prince Alfred Medical Centre, Suite 315, 100 Carillon Avenue, Newtown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2042
Accepted for publication 27 October 1999
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
 |
Case 1 |
|---|
A 66 year old woman noticed a firm nodule on the volar apect of the proximal phalanx of the left index finger. She had first noticed it 12 months previously and had watched it progressively increase in size to a diameter of five millimetres. On clinical grounds, it was thought to be a dermoid cyst. She had a history of an undifferentiated connective tissue disease with recurrent Raynaud's phenomenon, swollen fingers, a positive antinuclear antibody titre of 1:40 with an homogeneous pattern. Antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens and double stranded DNA were unable to be detected. Her other medical problems included lumbar spondylosis and osteoarthritis of the knees. Plain radiographs revealed chondrocalcinosis in the left wrist triangular fibrocartilage (see fig 1) but no calcification was noted in the nodule. Serum calcium and iron studies were normal.
| Figure Removed (Available Only in the Full Text) |
As the lesion was causing some inconvenience, it was excised. At
operation, a well encapsulated
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