Chondroid syringoma: report of four cases

Chondroid syringomas or mixed tumors of the skin are relatively rare adnexal tumors constituting 0.01% to 0.1% of all primary skin tumors. The majority of chondroid syringomas occur at the head and neck region (80%). Their clinical presentation is not specific and the final diagnosis is based on histopathologic examination. The authors report four cases of benign chondroid syringoma in three women and one man aged 26, 45, 50, and 38 years, respectively. They presented with a slow-growing, painless and firm subcutaneous nodule measuring between 1 and 3 cm involving the lower eyelid, the nasogenien groove, the nose, and the chin, respectively. All patients underwent uneventful surgical excision of the nodules. Histologic examination of the surgical specimen was compatible with benign chondroid syringoma in all cases. Chondroid syringomas must be considered in the differential diagnosis of any small subcutaneous nodule in the head and neck region in middle-aged patients. The treatment of choice is total excision, with wide disease-free margins, to rule out malignancy and reduce the risk of recurrence and malignancy in the future.