Unilateral Hypertrophy of the Tensor Fascia Lata

Abstract

A 57-year-old woman presented with right hip pain. The initial diagnosis was an inflammatory tendinopathy of the gluteus medius without signs of rupture, and the patient underwent an ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection. However, 1 month later, she presented with a painful swelling on the anterior-external aspect of the right hip/thigh, with a clinical suspicion of malignancy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis of hypertrophy of the tensor fascia lata (TFL) muscle. It is included in the differential diagnosis of soft tissue masses of the anterolateral proximal part of the thigh. The etiology is likely to be associated with gluteal muscle dysfunction. Teaching point: Unilateral hypertrophy of the fascia lata consists of an association with hypertrophy of the tensor fascia lata muscle and pathology of the minimus and medius gluteus muscles.

Keywords

• tensor fascia lata
• gluteus tendinopathy
• ultrasound
• mri