| Summary: | Calcific bursitis most commonly affects the subacromial and trochanteric bursae. Patients most often present at the hospital because of increased pain at night and when performing overhead activities. A physical examination of the shoulder typically reveals restriction in abduction and internal rotation. Pain is usually observed during the resorption phase of the deposit. Chronic pain is also related to the inflammatory process caused by calcification. Calcified lesions in a bursa or tendon are not always visible on an X-ray, and may not be apparent among physical examination findings. Small and scattered deposits can often be detected on an X-ray; however, a calcific slurry mass in the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa can be found more reliably with ultrasonography (US) than with plain film. Pain is often resistant to steroid injections. In symptomatic patients, US-guided fragmentation of the lesion with a needle, using a local anesthetic, saline lavage, and a steroid injection, can often achieve complete healing in a very short period of time. Presently described is successful treatment of a calcified lesion located in the subdeltoid bursa achieved by performing lavage, splitting the calcified lesion, and administering a steroid injection.
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