Tumoral calcinosis. Case report with treatment failure

Periarticular calcifications are the hallmark of a rare entity: tumoral calcinosis. We have followed for 90 months a nine-year-old black girl with involvement of both shoulders. Seven initial local excisions of the mass on the right shoulder were attempted without complete removal and prompt recurrence after each attempt. The entire lesion on the right side, including a cutaneous ulceration, was managed by en masse surgical excision. Preoperative inpatient medical management in the form of low calcium and low phosphorus diet was unsuccessful. Postoperatively, she has remained free of ulceration; however, after two and a half years, the right mass has again increased in size with compression of the brachial plexus. This recurrence occurred despite strict dietary control starting immediately postoperatively. Although there are many advocates of surgical excision of these lesions and, more recently, several cases reported of successful medical management, we find that often a combination approach is necessary to effectively treat tumoral calcinosis and reduce the rate of recurrence.