The Glomus Tumor of Finger - A Case Series

Glomus tumor is a rare hamartoma, common in young female which is excruciatingly painful and affects daily activities. It is usually present in distal phalanx (subungual) but may occur in different locations. A clinician needs high-level suspicion to diagnose this condition.

We hereby reviewed five cases (four females and one male) of this rare entity selected from patients attending our outpatient department since 2016 and were operated on. Out of these five cases, four were primary cases and one reoccurrence. Each of these was managed with en bloc excision of tumor and confirming it with biopsy after diagnosing it clinically and radiologically.

Glomus tumors are rare, benign, and slow-growing tumors that arise from neuromuscular-arterial structures called glomus bodies. Radiologically, magnetic resonance imaging classically shows T1 weight isointense and T2 mild hyperintense. Approaching a subungual glomus tumor through transungual approach with complete excision of the nail plate has reduced the risk of reoccurrence due to complete view/access of the tumor and placing intact the nail plate after excision reduces the incidence of post-operative nail deformity.