ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Glomus tumors are uncommon tumors and their occurrence in the foot is even less common. Glomus tumors of the toes are often missed, causing delays in diagnosis and treatment. We report an ambispective observational study of glomus tumors of the toes that were treated at our institution. METHODS: We reviewed the records of all the patients who underwent excision of toe glomus tumors in our department from January 2010 to September 2022. The follow-up data were collected from the outpatient records and by telephonic interview. Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) score, Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS), and the Foot Function Index (FFI) were collected. RESULTS: Out of all the patients treated for glomus tumors, we found that 7 patients had glomus tumors of the toes. Of the 7 patients, 6 were women and 1 was a male. The mean follow-up of our patients was 66.4 months (range, 7-109 months). Of the 7 patients, 1 presented with recurrent glomus tumor 30 months following the primary operation, for which she underwent excision again, after which she was symptom free. Another patient who developed recurrent symptoms on telephonic interview refused any further treatment. Among the 6 patients who were symptom-free at follow-up (including the patient who underwent excision for the recurrent tumor), the median SANE score, and FFI were 99.5 (IQR, 96-100) and 0.5 (IQR, 0-2) respectively. The mean FAOS was 96 (SD, 3.3). CONCLUSION: Surgical excision of the subungual toe glomus tumors can be curative. Recurrence of toe glomus tumors was noted in 2 patients (29%), one of whom refused further surgery. Re-excision in the other patient resulted in complete resolution of symptoms. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, ambispective observational study.
Subject(s)
Glomus Tumor , Nail Diseases , Skin Neoplasms , Humans , Male , Female , Glomus Tumor/surgery , Glomus Tumor/diagnosis , Glomus Tumor/pathology , Nail Diseases/surgery , Nail Diseases/diagnosis , Nail Diseases/pathology , Toes/surgery , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , Skin Neoplasms/pathology , Skin Neoplasms/surgery , Diagnosis, DifferentialABSTRACT
Traumatic musculotendinous junction avulsions are rare injuries except in avulsion amputations. They pose a significant challenge to the treating surgeon. We present a 24-year-old male who sustained an open musculotendinous avulsion of the flexor pollicis longus tendon. He was treated with primary tendon transfer using the flexor digitorum superficialis of ring finger, in flexor zone 3. The functional result at 10 months following surgery was excellent.
