Novel Pathologic Finding of Digital Soft Tissue Chondroma in a Child

Abstract

Unlike osteochondromata that develop in the hand, soft tissue chondromata (STC) devoid of bone and tendinous attachments are exceedingly rare. They have been described in adult patients of middle age, though have not been previously reported in the pediatric population. We report the case of a 9-year-old female that presented with a tender digital mass 6 months following a minor hand injury. After an extensive workup, the mass was surgically excised and diagnosed as an STC. Our case is the first to identify a digital STC in a pediatric patient and expands on the pathologic differential diagnosis. While the true incidence in the pediatric population is unknown, STC should be included in the differential diagnosis when any patient, adult or child, presents with a digital mass.

Extra skeletal chondroma a rare presentation in the big toe of a pediatric patient: a case report

“…9 When excising the lesion, it is important to be sure that the mass is completely excised including its capsule, as local recurrence can be as high as 25% in cases where the lesion was incompletely excised despite the benign nature of it. 4 Extraskeletal chondroma is reported in literature in small series of sporadic cases. In 1974, Dahlin and Salvador reported a series of 70 patients and showed the predilection of occurring in the distal parts of the limbs.…”

“…Still, local recurrence is not uncommon. 4 We thought it is of interest to report a rare presentation of an extra-skeletal chondroma in the big toe of a pediatric patient, discussing with it the radiological, morphological and pathological features found.…”