Pigmented villonodular synovitis. A retrospective review of affected large joints.

The experience, spanning 67 years, with 99 selected patients with pigmented villonodular synovitis of the knee, hip, elbow, or shoulder is reported. These patients were followed longitudinally for a mean of 13.5 years after the index operative procedure at the authors' institution. All but six of the patients still alive were contacted recently. The data were scrutinized for statistical significance by the Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests. Twenty-five patients had a recurrence after the index operative procedure. The probability of continuous recurrence-free survivorship at 25 years was 65%. Of the variables investigated for prognostic significance, only location in the knee, previous operative procedures, and incomplete surgical synovectomy were related significantly to a higher recurrence rate.