Rationale: Pain in the hip joint is a common symptom in children. The common diseases leading to pain in the hip joint in children include transient synovitis of the hip, septic arthritis of the hip, and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease.
Patient concerns: A 7-year-old boy was admitted due to pain in the right hip joint and limping for more than 1 month.
Diagnosis: Synovial chondromatosis.
Interventions: The patient underwent a hip open surgery, all the loose bodies in articular capsule were removed.
Outcomes: At the 6-month follow-up, pain and limping disappeared, and the range of activity of the hip joint was restored to a normal level.
Conclusions: Synovial chondromatosis is an uncommon disease which can cause pain of hip joint in children.
Lessons: When the pediatric orthopedic surgeon treats the children suffered with hip pain the surgeon should be aware of this rare disease.