A rare case of a calcified glomus tumour in the thigh of an adolescent

Pediatr Radiol. 2013 Aug;43(8):1045-8. doi: 10.1007/s00247-013-2640-2. Epub 2013 Feb 17.

Abstract

Glomus tumours are clinically defined by a triad of symptoms, i.e. paroxysmal pain, pinpoint tenderness and hypersensitivity to cold. These tumours typically affect the upper limbs, are small in size, superficially located and mostly found in adults. During a radiologic assessment of an idiopathic scoliosis in a 13-year-old girl, we found a calcified mass lesion in the soft tissue of the proximal thigh. The child was asymptomatic. Complementary exams permitted the definition of an interfascial calcified tumour with a long axis of 50 mm, with an inferior polar soft-tissue component. After excision, the anatomical pathology analysis confirmed the diagnosis of calcified glomus tumour. This clinical and radiologic presentation is particularly uncommon for a glomus tumour, which enriches the range of differential diagnoses of calcified masses in soft tissue.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Calcinosis / complications*
  • Calcinosis / diagnosis*
  • Diagnostic Imaging / methods
  • Glomus Tumor / complications*
  • Glomus Tumor / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Incidental Findings
  • Radiography
  • Rare Diseases / diagnosis
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / complications*
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Thigh / diagnostic imaging
  • Thigh / pathology*
  • Ultrasonography