[Mono-arthritis of the hand: case report of osteoid osteoma]

Osteoid osteoma is a rare occurrence at the hand. There is often a long delay before the diagnosis because the clinical signs mimic other frequent affections of the hand. We report the case of a 24-year old female patient suffering from an osteoid osteoma in the first phalanx of a finger. The diagnosis was made four years after the first symptoms. We started by a curettage-biopsy, followed in a second operative step by cauterization and filling up the defect by a bone autograft. Six months after the surgery, the patient was no longer experiencing any symptom. This rare case demonstrates that osteoid osteoma remains a possible diagnosis in chronic pain affecting the hand.