Fibrous hamartoma of infancy

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy is an uncommon, benign, subcutaneous fibrous proliferation, usually found during the first 2 years of life. It predominantly affects healthy boys and can be found in almost any subcutaneous tissue. This tumor can cause much concern about malignancy because it is firm and may be fixed to underlying tissues. Despite the occasional local recurrence, the clinical course is benign and the prognosis is excellent. Treatment is by local excision. The diagnosis is made easily by the characteristic histologic features. In order to avoid the misdiagnosis of malignancy and unnecessary radical therapy, both surgeon and pathologist must be familiar with this entity. We have reviewed six cases of fibrous hamartoma of infancy seen over a 5-year period.