[Extra-abdominal fibromatosis--extra-abdominal desmoid. Review and personal experiences]

Extraabdominal desmoids represent one group of deep fibromatoses. These aggressive nonmetastasizing tumorlike lesions have a strong tendency to local infiltration, with a recurrence rate of about 40%. Trauma, hormones and heredity have been implicated as etiologic factors. Shoulder, chest wall, back and thigh are favored sites. By combination of different diagnostic procedures the number of differential diagnoses can be reduced to only a few. While in former times surgery was thought to be the only kind of therapy, nowadays adjuvant procedures like radiation, hormonal therapy and also chemotherapy are becoming more and more important. Amputation or other mutilating procedures should be done only if the tumor recurs repeatedly.