Background
Mycetoma is a chronic, localized infection caused by fungi and bacteria. It usually affects the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and bone of exposed areas with deformity of the affected limb, ulcers, and fistula; however, pain is not severe, therefore the patient comes late to hospital for care.
Objective
To establish the diagnosis of mycetoma in the foot by imaging and identify the principal radiological signs.
Materials and Methods
Six patients with foot mycetoma were evaluated with plain x‐ray, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance (MR) after confirming the diagnosis by histopathology and culture.
Results
All patients presented the MR “dot‐in‐circle” sign; four presented “punched out” bone lesions on plain x‐ray. The six patients had fistulas, ulceration, a seropurulent exudate, edema, and a foot deformity. Four patients had N. brasiliensis infection with positive anti‐Nocardia IgG antibodies, and only half presented bone lesions.
Conclusion
Characteristic findings were foot deformity, edema, bone lesions, ulcers, fistulas and the presence of the “dot‐in‐circle” sign. We recommend a comprehensive study of patients with plain x‐ray and MR.
This case report presents a lipofibromatous hamartoma of the median nerve in a 31-year-old man who presents local deformity and a sensory deficit in the nerve territory. The tumor was evaluated with magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and plain film radiography, studying the pathognomonic findings of this tumor. The patient did not want surgical treatment because of prior surgical sequelae. A prior surgical biopsy was reported as a peripheral nerve with normal axonal fascicles surrounded by abundant fibroadipose tissue. This tumor has a low incidence with less than 180 cases reported in the literature.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.