Implantation Metastasis of Synovial Cell Sarcoma: Lessons Learned from a Mistake

Implantation metastasis occurs when tumor seeds into a wound or tissue by a significant amount of viable tumor cells. Here we describe the case of a 30-year-old man suffering from pain and swelling of the foot, which was misdiagnosed as a bone cyst. Surgery was performed involving curettage followed by bone grafting. After surgical pathology, the exact diagnosis was revealed as the synovial sarcoma (SS) of the foot. Implantation metastasis of SS in the iliac region, the grafting site, occurred 9 months post-surgery. Although there are a few reports on implantation metastasis of other types of tumoral lesions, to the best of our knowledge, we describe seeding of this type of tumor for the first time. Similar to other studies, we recommend that tumor surgeries should be carried out in a special setting to prevent any spread to or contamination of other sites by the tumor.