Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by postnatal progressive heterotopic ossification of the connective tissue and congenital malformation of the big toes. We report on a nine-year-old girl with clinical and radiological features of FOP. She was born with bilateral hallux valgus and at the age of nine presented an indurate mass in the left cervical region that was painful. A significant decreased range of motion in all levels of the spine and shoulder girdle was found. The radiographs showed heterotopic ossification in the thoracic region. The patient had two outbreaks of the disease ("flare-ups") that were treated with prednisone 2 mg/kg/day for four days. After the "flare-ups", she had a continuous therapy with a Cox-2 inhibitor (25 mg/day) and a leukotriene inhibitor, montelukast (10 mg/day).
fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva; myositis ossificans progressiva; myositis ossificans; heterotopic ossification
