Benign cartilaginous tumors of the hand, a five-year retrospective study

Benign and malignant cartilaginous bone tumors of the hand are rare findings, however representing a particular pathology due to the capacity to induce significant functional impairment. Even though a large proportion of tumors of the hand and wrist are benign, these may present destructive characteristics, deforming adjacent structures until compromising function. The most appropriate surgical approach for most benign tumors is intralesional lesion resection. Malignant tumors often require wide excision, up to segment amputation to obtain tumor control. A five-year retrospective study was performed on patients admitted in our Clinic with benign cartilaginous tumors of the hand, in which 15 patients were admitted within this period, 10 presenting with enchondroma, four presenting with osteochondroma, and lastly one with chondromatosis. After clinical and imaging evaluation, all the aforementioned tumors were surgically removed. Definitive diagnosis for all bone tumors, either benign or malignant, was established by tissue biopsy and histopathological examination, dictating therapeutic strategy.