Taylor J. Reif, MD, orthopedic surgeon and member of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service at HSS shares what young adults need to know about living with tenosynovial giant cell tumors (TGCTs).

“There are typically two forms of TGCT. There is a nodular or singular form, meaning that there's only one tumor within the joint or a tendon sheath, or there is a more diffuse form, meaning that it's throughout the joint or throughout the length of a tendon sheath, and there's typically much more tumor volume overall in this setting,” explained Dr. Reif.

“The quality of life of a patient with TGCT can be affected because they can be doing really well, and then all of a sudden, their knee or their ankle or their shoulder can become swollen and painful with a loss of motion, and that can last for several weeks until the inflammation and the swelling comes down. And then this can then recur again a few months later, and they can have this relapsing pain and swelling that can be really frustrating and lead to a loss of quality of life," Dr. Reif continued. 

Watch the video at WebMD.com.