Myositis ossificans traumatica in young children: report of three cases and review of the literature

Myositis ossificans traumatica (MOT) is a rare musculoskeletal disorder in young children. Clinical and imaging presentation in the early stage of dis ease makes it difficult to differentiate between infection and musculoskele tal neoplasms, particularly in the absence of a history of trauma. Three ca ses of MOT in children under the age of 10 years, two with inferential trau ma, are presented and the findings on different imaging modalities are disc ussed with reference to the existing literature. While findings based on a single imaging technique, including MRI, may be rather non-specific and eve n misleading, the combination of different modalities can assist in the con sideration of MOT as a possible diagnosis. For example, the demonstration o f soft-tissue haematoma on US would suggest the traumatic origin. A rationa l imaging approach is proposed.