Solitary enchondroma in a metatarsal bone, an incidental discovery

Enchondromas are rare benign bone tumours and their discovery is usually incidental, since in most cases it presents with no symptoms.

A 30 year old male who comes to the office after suffering a forced inversion of the left foot, he has edema of the left lateral malleolus, pain and is unable to walk; no deformities or other alterations are observed and palpable pulses of adequate intensity and frequency are recorded. The radiography shows soft tissue edema and no bone lesions. A tumour is found in the first metatarsal, which was afterwards corroborated by an MRI; once the diagnosis was confirmed, curettage of the lesion was performed with good outcome.

Multiple enchondromas and solitary enchondromas, left untreated, can transform into malignant bone tumours like chondrosarcomas, so early detection and treatment, in most cases with lesion curettage and bone grafting, become fundamental for a good prognosis.