Dupuytren's disease in a child: a long-term evolution after surgery

We report the case of a 13-year-old girl who presented with a fibrous nodular lesion on the palm of her hand. After ultrasonographic examination, surgical resection of the skin (dermofasciectomy) was performed, and a nodular phase mass was recovered, characterized as fusocellular fibroblast proliferation in a dense collagenous stroma with a cell population consisting of parallel fascicles of densely packed fusiform cells of a fibroblast strain. No signs of encapsulation or malignant changes were observed, all of which was consistent with Dupuytren's disease. This lesion is exceptional in childhood. Sixteen years later, the patient has not relapsed, and retains full active and passive mobility. Dupuytren's disease in childhood must be considered in the differential diagnosis of any hard palmar lesion. Diagnostic uncertainty and the fact that a hard palmar lesion in children may be clinically indistinguishable from a malignant process mean that resection of the lesion and histological examination are required.