Surgical treatment of an aseptic fistulized acromioclavicular joint cyst: a case report and review of the literature

An acromioclavicular joint cyst is an uncommonly reported condition, which seems to result from a massive rotator cuff tear and degenerative osteoarthritis of the acromioclavicular joint. We present the case of an 81-year-old man affected by an acromioclavicular joint cyst, associated to a massive rotator cuff tear, proximal migration of the humeral head and osteoarthritis of the gleno-humeral joint. The mass was 7 x 2.5 cm in size and the overlying skin presented a fistula that drained clear synovial-like fluid. Plain X-ray examination of the left shoulder showed proximal migration of the humeral head migration and osteoarthritis of the gleno-humeral joint, and further MRI evaluation confirmed the clinical diagnosis of a complete rotator cuff tear and observed a large subcutaneous cyst in communication with the degenerative acromioclavicular joint. The patient underwent surgical excision of the cyst and lateral resection of the clavicle to prevent disease recurrence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an acromioclavicular joint cyst complicated by an aseptic fistula resulting from multiple aspirations.