A Large Glomus Tumor of the Face: A Case Report

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medicine, and Pathology, 2018

Malignant glomus tumors are rare tumors of mesenchymal origin arising from the smooth muscle cells of the glomus body. A vast majority of the glomus tumors are benign and are commonly found in the distal extremities. Occasionally, malignant variant of glomus tumours present with a large size, infiltrative growth pattern, aggressive biological behavior such as recurrences, wide spread metastases and even death in some instances. Malignant Glomus tumors were believed to be low grade malignancies. However, from subsequently reported cases it has been evident that 38% of the MGTs have lead to fatal metastases. Malignant Glomus tumors have been reported in other organ sites like mediastinum, kidney, lungs, however their occurrence in the head and neck region is rare. This review discusses in detail about this rare but important soft tissue neoplasm.

International Surgery Journal, 2018

Glomangioma or glomus tumors are rare neoplasms of the glomus body, which are located in the stratum reticularis of the dermis throughout the body. With a female preponderance, 75% of them occur in the subungual region and present with non-specific pain as the main complaint. Extradigital glomus tumours are rare and present a diagnostic challenge, seen most commonly in males. We present a case of a 47-year-old male who presented with a painful swelling in the forearm. MRI showed a hypodense lesion in the subcutaneous plane. After a wide local excision, histopathology revealed sheets of round cells with intervening vascular channels, characteristic of a glomus tumor.

Ear, nose, & throat journal, 2017

Our objectives in reporting this case series are to familiarize readers with the rare occurrence of paragangliomas originating along the facial nerve and to provide a literature review. We describe 3 such cases that occurred at our tertiary care academic medical center. Two women and 1 man presented with a tumor adjacent to the vertical segment of the facial nerve. The first patient, a 48-year-old woman, presented with what appeared to be a parotid tumor at the stylomastoid foramen; she underwent a parotidectomy, transmastoid facial nerve decompression, and a shave biopsy of the tumor. The second patient, a 66-year-old man, underwent surgery via a postauricular infratemporal fossa approach, and a complete tumor resection was achieved. The third patient, a 56-yearold woman, presented with a middle ear mass; she underwent complete tumor removal through a transmastoid transcanal approach. All 3 patients exhibited normal facial nerve function both before and after surgery. Paragangliomas of the facial nerve are extremely rare, and their signs and symptoms are unlike those of any other temporal bone glomus tumors. Management options include surgical resection, radiologic surveillance, and radiotherapy. The facial nerve can be spared in selected cases.

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2009

Glomus tumors are a tumor of perivascular, temperatureregulating bodies; 75% occur in the hand, 50% of these are subungual, and 50% occur with erosion of the distal phalanges. They are typically less than 1 cm in diameter. The tumor may often present as a small, bluish-red nodule. Nail ridging is a common finding. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful in making the diagnosis. Treatment is marginal excision.

2012

Glomus tumors are benign, subcutaneous neoplasms of the perivasculature. Though facial location is rare, the diagnosis of a glomus tumor should be considered in cases of undiagnosed painful facial nodules or chronic facial pain. Imaging aids in defining the tumor and planning a complete excision in order to avoid recurrence. Histological examination is mandatory after every attempted excision. A case of glomus tumor of the cheek along with the possible pitfalls of diagnosis and treatment and a brief review of the limited associated literature are presented.

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2010

Case Reports in Vascular Medicine, 2013

Objective. To report on a very rare case of a glomus tumor manifested on the upper arm in a healthy young male patient.Case Presentation and Intervention. A 22-year-old male patient presented with bluish multifocal venous malformation on the left upper arm and was admitted for venous malformation excision. Pain, discomfort, and upper arm paraesthesia had been present for almost 6 years. Ultrasonography revealed septet tumor without blood flow in the subcutaneous region of anterior aspect of the upper arm. A multifocal venous malformation approximately 5–10 mm in diameter was excised. Histological examination showed dilated vascular area with proliferated glomus cells with round nucleus in the wall of dilated vascular structures. Based on histological examination, the final diagnosis was made as “glomangioma.”Conclusion. Histological examination is the only method that can establish final diagnosis. Currently, the only available treatment for this type of tumor is surgical excision.

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 2015

Introduction Glomus tumor is a neuromyoarterial tumor. It is a rare tumor which accounts for about 2% of all hand tumors. The diagnosis is based on the triad of symptoms, clinical examination which includes three tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound imaging. The most common treatment is surgical excision, using transungual or lateral subperiosteal approach. Sclerotherapy and radiotherapy may be the treatments of choice, but they are less effective. The recurrence rate is high -from 5% to 50%. Case Outline We diagnosed a glomus tumor of 1 cm in diameter in the distal phalanx of the fourth finger of the right hand in a 30-year-old woman. She had been visiting different physicians for more than two years and had been variously diagnosed. We performed a biopsy of the tumor, which was bleeding profusely during the procedure. Upon biopsy results, the tumor was excised with transungual approach. Two and a half months after the procedure the patient was feeling well. Conclusion There should be higher awareness of this tumor in order to diagnose it more easily and treat it accordingly, and thus alleviate the severe pain which the tumor causes. When it is considered as the possible cause of the lesion, the diagnosing is easier and treatment is immediate.

Background. Glomus tumors are rare mesenchymal tumors originating from glomus bodies in the skin. Glomus tumors of the kidney are rare tumors and only a few cases have been reported in the medical literature. An extensive search revealed a very limited number of primary renal glomus tumors. Although most of these cases were benign in nature, including a case with uncertain diagnosis of malignant potential, two were malignant. Case Report. We present a unique case of a 57-year-old male patient with an incidentally discovered 2 cm left renal mass. Histopathology examination and immunohistochemical studies confirm the diagnosis of glomangioma (a form of glomus tumor). The patient was followed for one year after partial nephrectomy and showed a benign course without any evidence of local recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 16th case of primary benign renal glomus tumors. Primary renal glomus tumors are rare and may mimic other mesenchymal renal neoplasms radiologically. Proper investigation (including histopathological analysis and immunohistochemical staining) of kidney tumors is essential to make the diagnosis of glomus tumors, which usually show a benign clinical course following resection.

SKINmed, 2002

Background. Glomus tumor is a benign neoplasm of uncommon occurrence in daily practice, more frequently observed as a single painful lesion, at the distal phalanges of the fingers. Multiple presentation is very rare, with fewer than 200 reports, usually presenting as small angiomatous lesions with discrete pain.