Chondroid Syringoma of the Medial Canthus

Abstract

Chondroid syringoma, or pleomorphic adenoma of the skin, is a rare, benign skin adnexal tumor. It is usually exhibited as a slowly growing intradermal or subcutaneous nodule, typically located in the head and neck region. Because of the unremarkable clinical symptomatology of this rare tumor, the diagnosis is exclusively made retrospectively based on histological confirmation of the surgically excised tumor. We present a rare case of a chondroid syringoma located in the left medial canthus of a 58-year-old man. The patient had no symptoms and decided to excise it for cosmetic reasons only. Local excision with a macroscopic wide cuff of normal tissue was done, without destroying the aesthetic and functional structures, since the defect was restored by a finger flap. One year postoperatively, the patient has remained disease-free. Chondroid syringoma usually appears in the face but the location in the medial canthus is not mentioned in the literature for the last twenty years.

Chondroid Syringoma of Medial Canthus – A Rare Case Report

“…It is a slow-growing, non-ulcerated, painless lesion located intradermally or presents as a subcutaneous nodule that may be attached to the overlying skin with no fixation to deeper structures [4], like in our case. Usually, the lesion is firm, however, cystic variants have also been reported [3].…”

“…Sweat gland tumors in the head and neck are uncommon. Chondroid syringoma was first described by Hirsch and Helwig in 1961 as a rare benign mixed tumor of the sweat glands localized in the dermis or subdermis [4]. The incidence is very low accounting for 0.01-0.098% of cases [5] this tumor can involve the hand, foot, axillary region, abdomen, penis, vulva, and scrotum [4].…”

“…Usually, the lesion is firm, however, cystic variants have also been reported [3]. To the best of our knowledge, only one case of chondroid syringoma of the medial canthus has been documented in the literature by Paraskevopoulos et al [4] Chondroid syringoma has been reported at different sites such as cheek, scalp, upper lip, forehead, nose, eyelid, philtrum, and lower back [4].…”

“…The conditions that may be included in the clinical differential diagnoses are implantation dermoid, sebaceous cyst, compound nevus, clear cell hidradenoma, cystic basal cell carcinoma, neurofibroma, and dermatofibroma [4]. Most of the abovementioned entities present as a subcutaneous nodule with normal overlying skin with the exception of basal cell carcinoma, which starts as a small brownish-red nodule with translucent color and shiny surface showing a network of capillaries, later become ulcerated with a well-defined, hard, and raised edge with a beaded appearance [9].…”

Rare benign mixed tumour of the upper lip: A case report

“…Chondroid syringomas (CS) are rare benign mixed tumours that exhibit both epithelial and mesenchymal components, originating from the sweat glands [1] . Occurrence rates have been reported to be 0.01%–0.098% of all primary skin tumours [2] , typically occurring in the head and neck region [2] , [3] between the ages of 20–60 years with a male predominance [4] .…”