Epidemiologic Characteristics, Presentation and Management Outcomes of Glomus Tumor: ARetrospective Study

Background: glomus tumors are benign perivascular neoplasms generally located in distallimbs, particularly in the nail bed, which present a classic triad including pain, tenderness, andcold hypersensitivity. this study described the epidemiologic characteristics, clinical presentation,diagnosis, management, and post-operative complications of glomus tumors.methods: medical profiles of patients with a glomus tumor who underwent surgical excision atshafa yahyaeian hospital, tehran, iran, between 2009 and 2021, were retrospectively reviewed.a senior hand surgeon at the same orthopedic center managed all patients with surgical excision.the collected information included demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, tumorcharacteristics, recurrence, and post-operative complications.results: the study included 38 females (76%) and 12 males (24%), with a mean age of38.9±14.3 years (range: 16-75 years). the symptoms at presentation included pain (100%),local tenderness (98%), and cold sensitivity (66%). in all patients, hildreth’s test was positive.the mean symptom duration was 51.2±53.7 months. of 50 cases, 47 lesions (94%) were in thefingers. the subungual region was the most frequent site of finger involvement (n=35, 74.5%).at a mean follow-up of 6.4±4.5 years, tumors recurred in two patients (4%). seven patients(14%) had surgical complications, including persistent pain (n=2), numbness (n=2), paresthesia(n=1), limited range of motion (n=1), and nail separation (n=1).conclusion: glomus tumors present as painful lesions, most commonly in the fingertips, andare generally associated with long symptom duration. the lesions are more common in females.surgical excision is an efficient treatment for the local control of glomus tumors.