GLOMUS TUMOR – DERMOSCOPY AND SURGERY

Abstract

Background. Glomus tumors are rare and mostly benign lesions of the subcutaneous tissue. Single lesions are preferably located on the acral parts of the body, including the subungual nail apparatus. Observations. We analyzed our files for glomus tumors of the last 10 years and found four tumors, with an equal gender distribution. The patients’ age ranged from 41 to 78 years. The dominant site was subungual on fingers. Advanced and long-standing tumors tend to destroy the overlying nail plate. Another tumor was found on the plantar heel. All patients had a delayed diagnosis between 3⁄4 of a year to three years. Nail plate dermoscopy is a useful tool for diagnosis of early subungual lesions. All tumors were successfully treated surgically with rapid and complete pain relief. Histologically, all four tumors were of the glomangioma subtype with predominant vascular structure. No relapse occurred within a follow-up of up to nine years. Conclusions. Glomus tumors are rare. In case of subungual localization, nail plate dermoscopy is a useful non-invasive diagnostic tool. The treatment of choice is complete tumor removal by surgery. A better knowledge of this tumor will help to reduce the time to final diagnosis and treatment. Key words :  Glomus tumor, nail, plantar tumor, nail dermoscopy, surgery.