Large solitary glomus tumor of the wrist involving the radial artery

Abstract

Glomus tumors are neuromyoarterial glomus body neoplasms that most commonly occur in the subungual areas of the hand. These tumors typically present as painful solitary lesions with localized tenderness. Extradigital glomus tumors are rare and difficult to diagnose because of their varying symptoms and presentation. Misdiagnosis can result in significant chronic pain, disuse syndromes, and disability over prolonged periods. Timely diagnosis and surgical resection are generally curative with complete resolution of symptoms. Surgeons should be aware of this rare condition and consider it in the differential diagnosis when treating a painful soft-tissue mass of the wrist. We report a case of a large solitary glomus tumor that occurred on the volar-radial aspect of the wrist and involved the radial artery. The patient was successfully treated with complete surgical excision of the tumor. There were no symptoms or recurrence at 3-year follow-up. In the literature, this is the first case of large atypical wrist glomus tumor involving the radial artery to be reported with corresponding magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative, histology, and immunohistochemistry findings.