A Rare Case Report of Extensive Polyostotic Gorham's Disappearing Bone Disease Involving the Upper Extremity

Abstract

Gorham's disease is a rare disorder involving the proliferation of endothelial channels resulting in resorption and disappearance of bone. An unusual case of polyostotic Gorham's disease affecting the scapula, humerus, radius, and ulna in a 39-year-old woman is described. The patient had extensive disease spreading across both the glenohumeral and humeroulnar joints. This is the first report of Gorham's disease spreading across multiple joints in the upper extremity.

“A Withered Limb”: Vanishing bone disease (Gorham’s disease) of the upper limb

“…[3][4][5] Even rarer is multicentric involvement crossing multiple joints, with only a single case documented so far. 7 We report a case of multicentric VBS crossing glenohumoral, arcomioclavicular and elbow joints, which to our knowledge is the second reported case of VBS crossing multiple joints of upper limb as well as the case involving highest number of joints.…”

Gorham-Stout-Disease (GSD) of the proximal humerus: A rare cause of shoulder pain.

“…Approximately 300 cases of GSD are reported in literature. A total of 40 cases of Shoulder GSD and only 23 cases of Humerus GSD have been reported in the literature [2,3]. Garbers et al reported a rare case of Gorham-Stout disease of both shoulders [4].…”

Gorham’s Disease in a Patient with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…It must be noted that Gorham's disease has an unpredictable natural history, although many case reports tell of spontaneous resolution after 2 to 3 years. 4 Patients with distal disease that is not expanding, such as in the clavicle or humerus, can be observed with serial radiography. In the patient presented here, conservative treatment was instituted with ongoing physical therapy as tolerated and pain control with NSAIDs as needed.…”

“…There is a predilection for intramembranously formed bone. 4 As of 2013, only 200 cases had been reported in the literature, and adequate epidemiological statistics are unreliable. The vast majority of the cases reported involve only a single bone.…”

“…The vast majority of the cases reported involve only a single bone. 4,5 The risk factors for the disease are unknown, but it appears that it is more common in persons under the age of 40 years. Some investigators believe that the disease is more common in men; others state that the ratio is closer to 1:1.…”