Subungual glomus tumor: surgical and histopathologic evaluation

Glomus tumor is a rare and benign vascular tumor, arising from neuromyoarterial glomus bodies. It is generally localized on the hand and especially the nail bed and is usually solitary. Pain, tenderness, and temperature sensitivity are the classic triad of symptoms of a glomus tumor. Owing to the small lesions and absence of specific skin features in the nail bed and nail matrix localizations, glomus tumor may not be taken into consideration. In particular, presentation of patients to practitioners of different disciplines for treatment of pain may cause diagnostic delays. Surgical excision is the most effective treatment approach and provides histopathologic diagnosis and rapid improvement of symptoms. This article describes a patient with a subungual glomus tumor for which surgical excision was performed.